I’ve been watching a Common Nighthawk from when it laid eggs to now with almost-fledged young! This is always exciting as I believe I have watched the same female bird nest in the same area for the last three years. One of the many challenges for ground nesting birds and for this bird is mowers.
This bird nested along one of the many canals here in South Florida dug for flood control. Florida Water Management maintains the canal edges and mows the grass along them. Last year I put up signs so that workers mowing would avoid the nest. The babies do fledge pretty quickly but they still face the dangers of mowers among other threats.