Night Hawk

We had the whole family out picking raspberries on a farm outside of town.  It got so dark we couldn't see the berries anymore so we had to leave.  On our way back something flew up from the side of the road and it looked like we hit it.  So we turned around and drove really slowly with our brights on to see if we could find it.  Towards the end of our second pass when we were about to give up we spotted it.  It was a nighthawk sitting on the side of the road facing us with it's wings held out.  It was alive, but we couldn't tell if it was hurt at all.  We all got out of the car to get a closer look.  John walked up to it slowly and then picked it up.  We all stood around the headlights and looked at it.  It was an incredible looking bird.  It's not actually a hawk at all.  Most people have seen them.  They are the birds that fly above the city in the evening with long pointed wings and a white stripe on each wing.  They make a nasal sounding "bzzzeeert" when they fly above the houses catching insects in their mouths.  And they have the mouths for the job.  Seeing the bird up close gave us all a chance to see how huge it's mouth was.  It makes sense for a bird that has to use it's mouth for scooping bugs out of the air in mid flight.  One of the girls asked if it could fly so John opened up his hand and it just sat there with it's wings open for a few seconds then flopped onto the ground and laid there.  We were all thinking that it was seriously injured and wondering what to do with it when all of a sudden it just took off and flew into the night.  It was a magical little moment and we all applauded as it flew off.