| General Comments |
This bird of Southwestern deserts is somewhat of a surprise on the North Carolina Bird List. Though it is possible that unidentified nighthawks reported in the state after October could be Lesser Nighthawks, the only definitive record is one found dead in Carteret in Dec 1998* [Chat 66:1-6 link]. The specimen is now in the NC Museum of Natural Sciences collection. One was reported as seen in flight along the causeway at Figure Eight Island (New Hanover) on 25 Nov and 16 Dec 2021 [Chat 86:29 link], [Chat 86:53 link]. However, this report was not accepted by the NC BRC, though a nighthawk was certainly involved, and the details do point toward this species as opposed to Common Nighthawk. Sadly, the bird was not photographed, which was the probable reason for lack of acceptance. |
