Most active at dusk and dawn, the “peent” call of the Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) was once a familiar sound in cities and towns throughout New Hampshire, where they nest on flat, peastone gravel roofs and feed on insects attracted to city lights. In recent years, rubber and PVC have largely replaced peastone roofing, and nesting nighthawks have disappeared from many New Hampshire towns; in the few towns where they remain (including Keene!), their numbers have dramatically declined. Biologists are now trying to determine if the disappearance of the nighthawks is linked to the disappearance of peastone roofs.

In efforts to conserve this state-threatened species, AVEO, New Hampshire Audubon and Antioch University New England graduate student Ken Klapper are placing experimental gravel patches on rooftops throughout Keene and Concord, and AVEO volunteers are monitoring nighthawks in Keene on summer evenings. If the nest patches prove to be a promising strategy for nighthawk conservation, AVEO will continue to expand the Keene nestpatch initiative and New Hampshire Audubon will broaden their nighthawk restoration and monitoring efforts to include other cities that once supported nesting nighthawks.

What did we discover about nighthawks in Keene in 2007? Click here to find out!

Click here to read the Keene State Today article about Project Nighthawk.

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In 2008, Nighthawk Patrol will take place every Wednesday in June and July, weather permitting. Nighthawk Patrollers will meet at Keene State College Science Center Room 181 (click here for directions to the Science Center) at 7:30 pm to synchronize watches and receive data forms and field maps, then head outside to look and listen for nighthawks in their assigned neighborhood from 8:15 - 9:30 pm. For more information or to volunteer, contact AVEO at (603) 358-2065 or brett@aveo.org.

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Project Nighthawk in Keene is generously supported by the Association for Field Ornithologists, the Melanson Company and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, in cooperation with the Cheshire County Conservation District. We also thank Phoenix Medical Supply, Rick’s Ice Cream, Prime Roast Coffee, and Fritz Restaurant for their generous support of our volunteers.