Category Archives: Magee Marsh

A “Lifer” for me

nighthawk, bird, preening, Magee Marsh, boardwalk, Ohio,

night-hawk

When you travel to new places, you can expect to see new birds. My trip to Magee Marsh did not disappoint. Aside from seeing many warblers I had not seen before, I got to see several night-hawk. The night-hawk were resting on horizontal tree branches which often made them appear essentially as bumps-on-a-log. The bird in the picture had been resting when I passed it several times during the day. This time it was awake and preening. This image was made using a 100/400 Canon lens from a distance of about 25 feet. The bird was quite close but didn’t seem to mind all the folks gathered around watching. It didn’t even seem to mind when a discussion came up debating if it was a night-hawk or a whip-or-will. Both “camps” were equally adamant as to the identity. I remained neutral and the bird was silent on the debate. When I returned to my room, I did a little ‘net research and found the night-hawk was expected to be in the area. There was no mention of a Whip-or-will for the month or locality. If I were to find it really is a whip-or-will, well that would still be a lifer for me.