Nesting Nighthawk

At dusk above a gravelly streambed in the Cascades wilderness, a female common nighthawk hunches half-asleep in the shallow dip of pebbles at the base of a bank of alpine lupine that she has chosen for a nest. Suddenly the evening silence is broken by the roar of what sounds like a passing truck. Startled awake, the bird looks to the sky to see a male nighthawk just pulling out of a sharp dive. The dramatic acrobatics of the flyer are responsible for the sound- a strategically echoing sound of air rushing through feathers that is designed to attract her attention. As the male wheels above her with a piercing croak, the nighthawk considers whether she will answer.

This ink and watercolor painting is 8 x 10″, framed in solid cherry wood for total dimensions of 9 x 11 x 1.5″.