Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

 

Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor)

– 

Abundance: Uncommon during late spring, summer, and early fall; recorded in 24 Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the trend for the Regional breeding population is probably decreasing (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Summer Resident.

Regional High Count: 2622 (28 August 1974; north of Crossville, Cumberland County, Tennessee; Adele West; West 1975; see also Remarks [below]); FBC/FBB High Count: 145 (21 September 2002; Putnam County, Tennessee [FBC]; Stephen J. Stedman); SBC/SBB High Count: 11 (12 May 2001; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Spring: x (

    Late Fall: x (

    Note: Spring arrival usually widespread by 5 May; fall departure largely complete by 5 October.  Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported fall departure for the years 20022011 follow:

Year Early Spring Arrival Late Fall Departure
2002 20 April 12 October
2003 25 April --
2004 25 April 1 November
2005 7 May 11 October
2006 27 April 17 November
2007 30 April 14 October
2008 3 May 27 September
2009 24 April 27 September
2010 5 May 12 September
2011 2 May 27 September

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).  The "nest" of this species is a simple scrape on bare ground, usually where some pebble component is present; the clutch is almost always 2 eggs, as illustrated in this photo (Joseph E. Mast; Crossville, Cumberland County, Tennessee; early June 2007).  This ground nester is quite susceptible to disturbance by free-roaming pets, of which many thousands are probably present in most Regional counties; nighthawks sometimes place their nests on flat rooftops that have a gravel covering and may reduce nest predation by doing so.

Habitat: An urbanite, the nighthawk is often found in the towns and larger villages of the Region; a review of the foray blocks where this goatsucker was recorded during UCR Forays shows that many of them were blocks with an urban component in them (see also Foray Results [below]).  However, nighthawks are also found far from urban centers at sites where extensive open areas are present.  For example, forested areas that have been recently clear-cut appear to be to the liking of this caprimulgid.  The deforested top of Hinch Mountain, Cumberland County, Tennessee, may harbor a pair of breeding nighthawks; at any rate, a courting male was heard at this site during the 2010 UCR Foray in Cumberland County.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 6 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 19 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, leading to YardWatch frequency classifications of Very Uncommon and Uncommon, respectively; the former of these YardWatch frequency  classifications is inconsistent with the overall Regional abundance classification for this caprimulgid, but the latter is consistent.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

County Dates when Foray Conducted Total Blocks
in County *
Total Blocks in which
Common Nighthawk
Recorded
Total Individuals
Recorded
         
Adair 816 June 2014 46 0 0
Barren 1–6 June 2013 54 0 0
Clinton 12–14 June 2009 24 1 0
Cumberland 1620 June 2014 35 1 5
McCreary 30 May5 Jun 2011 51 2 1
Metcalfe 812 June 2013 32 0 0
Monroe 1–12 June 2015 35 1 1
Pulaski 511 June 2010 72 2 1
Russell 1316, 2629 June 2012 31 0 0
Wayne 28 May3 June 2012 54 1 0
         
Kentucky   434 (408) 8 (1.8%) 8
         
Bledsoe 1824 June 2012 48 0 0
Clay 12–15 June 2010 30 1 1
Cumberland 29 May4 June 2010 75 5 3
DeKalb 2326 May 2008 40 3 5
Fentress 1117 June 2012 55 0 0
Jackson 29 May1 Jun 2009 40 0 0
Macon 1722 June 2013 32 1 3
Morgan 1–8 June 2014 58 0 0
Overton 2329 May 2011 47 1 0
Pickett 2225 May 2009 24 0 0
Putnam 6–12 June 2011 46 2 4
Scott 924 June 2016 62 1 0
Smith 1525 June 2015 37 1 1
Van Buren 13–15 June 2011 33 2 2
Warren 1–10 June 2016 47 1 0
White 1–6 June 2015 50 1 2
         
Tennessee   724 (651) 19 (2.6%) 21
         
Region   1158 (c. 1059) 27 (2.3%) 29

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

RemarksThe Regional High Count (above) may have been superseded by an earlier count, but the earlier count was not a specific one; Mayfield (1933) reported "thousands" of nighthawks in northwestern Bledsoe County, Tennessee, 27 August 1933; the date of this sighting is well within the period when major flights of nighthawks pass southward through the Region, so it may well have involved an even higher count than the Regional High Count listed.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Barren Metcalfe Adair Russell Pulaski
Monroe Cumberland Clinton Wayne McCreary
Macon Clay Pickett Fentress Scott
Smith Jackson Overton Putnam Morgan
DeKalb White Cumberland
Warren Van Buren Bledsoe

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Burgess Falls SP, Putnam/White Counties, TN Barren River Lake SP, Barren County, KY
Cumberland Mountain SP, Cumberland County, TN General Burnside Island SP, Pulaski County, KY
Edgar Evins SP, DeKalb County, TN  
Fall Creek Falls SP, Bledsoe/Van Buren Counties, TN Pulaski County Park, Pulaski County, KY
Frozen Head SNA, Morgan County, TN Waitsboro Recreation Area, Pulaski County, KY
Rock Island SP, Warren/White Counties, TN  
Standing Stone SP, Overton County, TN Big South Fork NRRA, KY and TN
   
Cane Creek Park, Putnam County, TN  
Roaring River Recreation Area, Jackson County, TN  

Literature Cited