Just found out from Dave Lawton of Avon; a flock of Nighthawks is really called a "kettle". Ben in New Hartford

I'd never heard that term for Nighthawks. A flock of hawks riding a thermal is called a "kettle". The diurnal raptors appear as graceful bubbles, boiling lazily higher and higher. The flight of a flock of Nighthawks is loosely streaming and erratic. I think a better term would be a "spillage". Steve Mayo Bethany On Thursday, September 4, 2014 8:03 AM, Bensilano via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: Just found out from Dave Lawton of Avon; a flock of Nighthawks is really called a "kettle". Ben in New Hartford _______________________________________________ This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org

Golly! Mr. Google shows agreement with Dave Lawton: http://www.birdnature.com/groupnames.html http://dictionary.reference.com/writing/styleguide/animal.html http://lenichoir.org/en/collective-nouns/ None of these, however, give any references or authorities for this usage. And Steve's point is well-taken. On Sep 4, 2014, at 8:22 PM, Steve Mayo and Rebecca Horowitz via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: > I'd never heard that term for Nighthawks. A flock of hawks riding a thermal is called a "kettle". The diurnal raptors appear as graceful bubbles, boiling lazily higher and higher. > > > The flight of a flock of Nighthawks is loosely streaming and erratic. I think a better term would be a "spillage". > > Steve Mayo > Bethany > > > > > > On Thursday, September 4, 2014 8:03 AM, Bensilano via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: > > > > Just found out from Dave Lawton of Avon; a flock of Nighthawks is really called a "kettle". > Ben in New Hartford > _______________________________________________ > This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. > For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org > _______________________________________________ > This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. > For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org

Thanks for that very infomative link! 'Didn't mean to imply I was disagreeing; one should always learn something new every day. My most impressive Nighthawk experience was decades ago, when I lived on Woodmont's Beach Avenue. One evening they streamed among the coastal houses, down Beach Avenue, Blackhall Avenue and Hawley Avenue by the score, 2-20 meters off the roads. Steve Mayo Bethany On Thursday, September 4, 2014 8:42 PM, Arthur Shippee via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: Golly! Mr. Google shows agreement with Dave Lawton: http://www.birdnature.com/groupnames.html http://dictionary.reference.com/writing/styleguide/animal.html http://lenichoir.org/en/collective-nouns/ None of these, however, give any references or authorities for this usage. And Steve's point is well-taken. On Sep 4, 2014, at 8:22 PM, Steve Mayo and Rebecca Horowitz via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: > I'd never heard that term for Nighthawks. A flock of hawks riding a thermal is called a "kettle". The diurnal raptors appear as graceful bubbles, boiling lazily higher and higher. > > > The flight of a flock of Nighthawks is loosely streaming and erratic. I think a better term would be a "spillage". > > Steve Mayo > Bethany > > > > > > On Thursday, September 4, 2014 8:03 AM, Bensilano via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: > > > > Just found out from Dave Lawton of Avon; a flock of Nighthawks is really called a "kettle". > Ben in New Hartford > _______________________________________________ > This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. > For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org > _______________________________________________ > This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. > For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org _______________________________________________ This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org