Hello All,
I have observed the phenomenon of Gulls, Nighthawks and Starlings hawking flying ants for many decades in South Coastal Maine.
It is always around this time of year, usually in the late afternoon early evening of a sunny day and seems so nicely timed to coincide with nighthawk migration and also uptick of Bonaparte's Gulls in the area.
On the same day as many Maine birder posts there is also a post from the Northern New York birding group reporting the same phenomenon with I believe Eastern Kingbirds and Cedar Waxwings also checking in on this.
Watching the larger gulls expending energy hawking ants above the mudflats I can only conclude that they must be of a very high food value to make it worth their while though I have not noticed if they only do this on a high tide when the mudflats might not be so available for foraging.
I have seen the ants in the late afternoon rising by the hundreds from my yard.
This so much reminds me of the coinciding of Broad-winged Hawk migration with the spring and fall migration of garter snakes from and to their winter hibernation sites and basking areas on the ledges of the hills along which they migrate.
The natural world is amazing in the number of interactions and connections between all its various parts.
Dan Nickerson
Freeport ME
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