Okaloosa County Birding

Kirk, Kelly, and I went birding on Eglin Sunday evening. The sun was setting with a golden light, and the birding was good.

Two Prothonotary Warblers sang to us in this swamp.

The Longleaf Pine Woods were pretty magical at sunset.  We got to see a Red-cockaded Woodpecker and a Bachman's Sparrow.

I got a nice look at a Blue Grosbeak.  Several were singing for us, so I could work on learning the song.

Kirk spotted this nighthawk perched. Many nighthawks were doing their 'booming' display, which I had never heard before. It is a very impressive sound.  Later, we got to see several Chuck-wills-widows perched and flying.  They sang for us through the night.

Common Nighthawk

Andrew and I were running this morning when I saw a nighthawk in the middle of the road. It was motionless and a couple feathers were ruffled on its back. It opened its eyes when I got close. I picked it up and moved it off the road. It didn't resist too much, but squawked and spread its wings. I came back and took some pictures. I hope the poor guy is all right. It is such a pretty bird. You can identify them in flight by their bold white wing bars across the primaries. You can see the white throat in the pictures. Looking at the pictures, you would not believe how wide the gape of his mouth is.