Common Nighthawks

As the sky melted into the colors of a Hudson Valley Sunset, purple washed away the blue and thin rose light crept up above the mountains. There is nothing quite like a Hudson Valley sunset. The plants and shorebirds that dotted the river lost their color, becoming black silhouettes. Suddenly, a dark shape flew towards me, jerking upwards to avoid colliding with my head, and as I whipped around to watch the batlike shape I could see the white windows in the wings shining within the silhouette of a Common Nighthawk. It flew in front of the moon, creating an x-shape with its boomerang-like wings before veering off into the shadows. Looking around, I could count four nighthawks dipping and dancing as they feasted on insects above the river.

c. Christina Baal 2020