Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Report for April–June 2026
Nest Side Story
by John Carpenter, Eastern Landbird Biologist
M any bird species have evolved ways to conceal their nests very well, which makes discovering one by accident a highlight of a field biologist’s day. On an early June morning this quarter, while walking through a recently burned longleaf pine forest conducting surveys for the Red-cockaded Wood- pecker in Bladen County, a Common Nighthawk burst up from the ground immediately at my side. It flew a short dis- tance and began a “broken wing display,” a tactic used by sev- eral bird species that involves the bird feigning injury to dis- tract potential predators and lure them away from a nearby active nest. I was not fooled. A quick look around revealed two small, speckled eggs lying on the bare ground just feet away from where I was standing. Nighthawks do not build nests, and their egg laying seems less strategic and more haphazard, as if they decide, “I have 5 seconds to put these eggs some- where… whoops, oh well, there they are!” On the drive home, I realized that this discovery presented an opportunity. I returned a few days later with two cheap trail cameras, setting them as close to the nest as I could without causing abandonment. I programmed one to capture still pho- tos and the other video. My hope was to document all the fascinating stuff that could happen—fluffy chicks, unusual behaviors, massive storms—and gain insights into events we rarely, if ever, witness in person. When I returned 3 weeks later, I found the camera pro- grammed for still images knocked over, face down. The other was still upright but with a maxed-out memory card. Upon inspecting the files, I quickly noticed very few still photos yet hundreds of videos, most from a single day. As sometimes happens with deployment of field equipment, things had gone wrong. Luckily, I found a few files that did provide some inter- esting scenes, but overall, I was disappointed that the attempt hadn’t revealed a more interesting story. For some reason, before closing the file folder, I clicked on a couple more seemingly random files and saw… well, my sto- rytelling just can’t compete with the actual footage. Watch the short story unfold here .
JOHN CARPENTER/NCWRC
Top, a Common Nighthawk nest and eggs; bottom, a Common Nighthawk female on nest.
JOHN CARPENTER/NCWRC
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