Posted by Ryan Shaw (24.20.59.166) on December 07, 2000 at 23:11:40:
Well, the shorebird looks like a Yellowlegs, I'd say it s a juvenile since it is august and it appears quite freshly marked. Though I must say the white spotting on the scaps, coverts, etc looks much heavier for either species than I'm used to. Judging by bill structure, I'll say its a Greater Yellowlegs over LEYE, in that it does look slightly upturned, and the base is definitely thicker, tapering to the tip. Whereas the Lesser's bill gives me the impression of a straight needle. Also, I'm not exactly sure what is good for either species, but the bill looks to be about 1 1/2 times the length of the head. I'll go with Greater.
The Nighthawk, the bird has buffy spots on the primaries, which I believe is indictive of Lesser Nighthawk. I'll let other people go a little deeper into it, as I am not a nightjar expert by any means or imagination.
Good birding/cyberbirding
Ryan Shaw