{"id":47137,"date":"2017-06-04T05:00:29","date_gmt":"2017-06-04T11:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=47137"},"modified":"2024-05-20T04:28:01","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T09:28:01","slug":"resting-common-nighthawk-in-northern-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/06\/04\/resting-common-nighthawk-in-northern-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Resting Common Nighthawk in Northern Utah – My Best Find of the Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CommonCommon Nighthawk resting on a red gate – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I photographed my first of the year Common Nighthawk yesterday in northern Utah after I found and pointed it out resting on a red gate about mid-morning. Common Nighthawks rest during the day and feed on flying insects during dusk and dawn and they can be found in most of North America during their breeding season.<\/p>\n

I wish I had found this one earlier in the morning when the light was softer and when the sun hadn’t been quite so high. I see this species on the wing far more than I see them resting so I felt I had to take photos of it even though the light wasn’t the best.<\/p>\n

\"CommonCommon Nighthawk adult – Nikon D500, f10, 1\/400, ISO 250, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was able to take a few images of the Common Nighthawk with a better light angle and a bit closer than I was in the first photo, close enough that the bird nearly filled the frame. I wish the nighthawk had opened its eyes but it never opened them much more than is shown in this photo.<\/p>\n

\"CommonCommon Nighthawk on a red gate in Box Elder County – Nikon D810, f11, 1\/500, ISO 320, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 50mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I wanted to include a wide angle photo that showed the nighthawk resting on the red gate from the same location where I took the photo above. Having a long lens allows me to take frame filling images of birds without having to be right up on the bird and without disturbing them.<\/p>\n

After taking a few more images of the resting Common Nighthawk it was time to head back home.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Common Nighthawk photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I photographed my first of the year Common Nighthawk yesterday in northern Utah after I found and pointed it out resting on a red gate about mid-morning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1148,5898,26],"tags":[4004,5900,5899,5904,5902,5903,5849,4156,2315],"class_list":["post-47137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-common-nighthawks","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-chordeiles-minor","tag-common-nighthawk","tag-goatsucker","tag-nighthawk","tag-nighthawks","tag-red-gate","tag-resting","tag-summer-3"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/common-nighthawk-perched-mia-mcpherson-5838.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-cgh","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":128798,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/20\/common-nighthawk-at-tishomingo-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":47137,"position":0},"title":"Common Nighthawk At Tishomingo NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago, I photographed my first Common Nighthawk in Oklahoma at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge. I found three nighthawks there in the trees in total.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Resting Common Nighthawk at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Common-Nighthawk-tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-1447.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Common-Nighthawk-tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-1447.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Common-Nighthawk-tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-1447.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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McPherson","date":"August 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Virginia Rails are secretive marsh birds that can be found at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge during the breeding season and the can be very difficult to see let alone photograph.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Virginia Rail foraging in a marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/virginia-rail-mia-mcpherson-9311.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/virginia-rail-mia-mcpherson-9311.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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