Towheeblog

The camera can sometimes reveal. Here is excellent shot by Bill Vollmer during our photo trip at Malheur last week. The trip was sponsored by Malheur Field Station. Several times we witnessed insect-eaters overhead–Black Terns, Swallows, out-and-back flycatchers, Franklin’s Gulls. None were more exciting to watch, as fast in motion, as dramatic in swerves and dives as the Common Nighthawk:

If you’ve read my essay in Edge of Awe, the anthology about Malheur, you will know how I marvel at these birds, their big mouths and tiny beaks, their aerial agility, their mobility, their very being. Thanks, BIll.