"THE NOT SO COMMON NIGHTHAWK"

An illustration from a 1950's book titled "Birds of New York",  the Nighthawk above and its cousin the Whip-poor-will below, are both listed as common species of all of the state, as well as the Nighthawk, being a very common summer resident of roof-tops, in all major cities, including even the most urban areas of Manhattan.  Both species have disapeared by over 95% in New York, as well as most of the surrounding states.

"THE UNCOMMON 'COMMON' NIGHTHAWK"

By: Fritz Von Ludwigslust


There is something incredibly sad, even tragic, about a summer night in New York City without that magic spirit of the starry sky, the common nighthawk (chordeilies minor). They would sail and dive among the lampposts and moonlit rooftops while their beezle-burb-peent calls would echo from above. These calls are now a part of history, for over 95% of these mysterious native birds have disappeared from urban areas in New England, the mid-west, the mid-atlantic, and now even the south-east. The common nighthawk is not a hawk at all. It is a cousin of another nightjar, the whip-poor-will (also experiencing an unprecedented drastic decline). Nighthawks are brown and gray, cryptic, swallow-like birds who feed on thousands of insects a night, and are an extremely beneficial native bird. Many reasons have been cited for their disappearance, including crow and gull predation, loss of gravel-roof habitat, and pesticides. However, I believe the major problem exists in their winter home and on their migration routes. Between the fall of 1994 and summer of 1995 there was an 80% reduction of these birds from the New York City area.


Summer, 2014.
New York City.
Astoria, Queens, and Hoboken, New Jersey.

This was my sixth summer of returning to eight key former nighthawk hotspots. I returned two nights a week from June first to September first, on clear, calm, moonlit nights. Nighthawks had been very common to almost abundant in all these areas until the summer of 1995. The sky was starry but empty. I heard robins and mockingbirds singing in all these areas late at night, but still have never heard a single nighthawk since the late spring of 2002. Mockingbirds are a good meter of what’s living in the area. They can only repeat what they hear. I studied each mockingbird’s repertoire in all eight areas. They were all an exact repetition of the other: a robin, a cardinal, a bluejay, a starling, even car alarms, and a flicker. End result: the mockers had never heard a nighthawk. Despite this sad fact I will continue my personal research, returning to all eight areas this coming summer, in hopes that the nighthawk may return.


 I hope that by bringing this precipitous decline to the public’s attention, I can reinforce the fact that the environment and conservation of native flora and fauna need to be the number one priority in this country now. The nighthawk is a special bird of American folklore, story, and song, sacred to the American Indians, and a true urban legend. Action must be taken quickly to save this spirit of America’s night sky.

"GHOST BIRDS" ...... "CHIMNEY SWIFTS"

Chimney Swifts . . .
Swift . . .ly disappearing from our urban skies.

By: Fritz Von Ludwigslust



What Is That?
Twittering, chattering little acrobatic cinders with wings have been swooping in and out of your chimney stack. They’re not bats. They’re not swallows. They look like small flying cigars. They’re that skydiving spirit of the brick and cement stacks, the chimney swift. What the nighthawk was to the city evening sky, the chimney swift is to the sunlit day sky. At least for now. Following in the sad path of the nighthawk, swifts have disappeared by 45% from all of their urban range in eastern North America. BBC (Breeding Bird Count) and state radar maps confirm this sad fact.

There’s Something In My Chimney
Chaetura Pelagica are small sooty gray swallow-like birds who now nest only in chimney stacks, silos, and abandoned buildings. They are five inches long and depend solely on flying insects as their source of food. They build their nest of twigs and saliva inside these structures. Their disappearance is a big mystery. Some cite pesticides and habitat loss. In addition, newly developed automatic furnace switches can asphyxiate and kill them if the furnace turns on during the breeding season (previously, New York City laws stated furnaces only had to be on between mid-April and mid-October, sparing the chimney swifts during their breeding season here.) So PLEASE, PLEASE cover your chimneys with caps or secure screens if you have an automatic furnace switch or if your chimney is made out of metal. These beneficial birds can be trapped and die inside metal or steel chimneys. Otherwise, encourage and enjoy these beautiful, comical little native birds that will reward you by eating thousands of mosquitoes, flies, and other insects. To attract swifts to nest in your area, you can find out how to build a chimney swift tower on many sites online.

The Neo-tropical Migrant Mystery
The chimney swift, the common nighthawk, the purple martin, and whippoorwill all share one common, unfortunate bond. They cross the Caribbean enroute to their winter home in the Amazon basin in South America. I believe somewhere there lies the answer to the devastating decline of these birds. Pesticides, jungle deforestation, and even reports of the horrid hobby of using these birds for target practice on a large scale in many South American countries are all possible causes. We need to be in contact not just with ornithologists and conservationists in these countries, but also with government officials. Only they can truly educate the people as to the importance of protecting, and not destroying, these migrant birds.




Above Illustration :
This is my fantasy vision of a funnel of Chimney swifts, entering their stack of brick home for the night.  This is a sight that is slowly disappearing from urban america, where Chimney Swifts were once very common sunmer residents.  Their slow but steady decline, like the uncommon Nighthawk and Whip-poor-will is still largely unanswerable and a scientific enigma.  Illustration collage by Fritz Von Ludwigslust.

"EMPTY CHATEAUS" ...... PURPLE MARTINS...... CONTINUED

The photo above. taken by Kazuki and Fritz, displays the typical Martin hotel in almost any urban area in North America.  The hotel is empty, dilapidated, and has never been used by Purple Martins, only by the two agressive and unwanted pests, starlings and house sparrows.



The Purple Martin has often been celebrated in colonial artwork and revered by the many different tribes of American Indians.  However, as I have written before, the Purple Martin, is no longer a common resident of cities and suburbs, and is missing from most of its former range, where it is still slowly vanishing from where ever it still breeds.


...... What the American Indians knew, and what we should have learned by now ......

Long before the European settlers came to America, the native Indians were already living in complete harmonywith their natural world here.  They were also practicing conservation, ages before it had that title and meaning.  The native Indians had the knowledge, that one Purple Martin alone, could eat hundreds of disease carrying mosquitoes, black flies and gnats in one single day, all without ever disturbing or eating their vegetable, fruit or grain crops.  They also knew, that these beautiful, dashing swallows were territorial, and would drive any predetors, such as hawks or destructive crows away from their homestead, also protecting the Indians crops and small animals.  This is also invaluable for any modern day farmers as well, who have crow raided crops, or poultry and small livestock.
The Indians would cleverly grow special large gourds, to then harvest and dry out.  They would then make an entrance hole in each one for the Martins to enter and build nests inside.  The string of gourds were then put high up on wooden poles, very close to their dwellings and crops for insect control.  The Indians had no need or will to develop dangerous pesticides and chemicals to "solve" their own self induced problems, and pollute their environment.  They worked with the natural world and nature, to keep everything in balance.
And so, on this note, we need to take charge and responsibility, concerning the now serious and grave matters that threaten our environment today, that is being destroyed by us right now, it is everybodys responsibilty.  We are in true danger, of losing some of yhe most legendary and beloved birds, (as well as countless or species of native flora and fauna), in our country and around the world, it is all connected.