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Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor)
Summary
- Status in VT: Declined by 91% (23 to 2 blocks). Losses occurred in every biophysical region.
- Data from other research: No additional data in VT.
- Conservation status: State rank S1B; SSC; SGCN-H
- Other atlases: Average -70% in MD, NY and PA; ON: -39%
- VT’s role North American range: VT is within the core of the range.
- Causes of change since first Atlas: Loss of preferred nesting areas, especially gravel on flat-roofed buildings; loss of upland openings due to succession, urban/suburban development; increased predation (crows, feral cats); pesticide use on breeding grounds, especially for mosquitoes; pesticide use on wintering grounds (?); vehicle collision while roosting on gravel roads (?).
- Management/Monitoring recommendations: Provide gravel on flat roof tops for nesting (see Nighthawk Gravel Nest Patch Handbook); restore habitat, especially on lakeshore and in riparian areas.
First Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas (1976-1981)
Species Account
Second Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas (2003 – 2007)
![Common Nighthawk Table 2](http://val.vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Common-Nighthawk-Table-2.jpeg)
Change in Distribution
![Common Nighthawk Table 3](http://val.vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Common-Nighthawk-Table-3.jpeg)
Links
Vermont eBird
Encyclopedia of Life
All About Birds