Having been out-of-state for the past week today was my first chance to try for the mega-rarity that had been reported since last week. New Jersey's second known record of a
Lesser Nighthawk had been reported from Somerset County's Lord Stirling Park. Evidently an injured bird had been found earlier in May and brought to the nearby Raptor Trust. Here the bird was rehabilitated and subsequently released at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.
The bird apparently settled in at Lord Stirling park, which is about one-mile away from it's release. Fortunately for me the bird stuck around long enough that I could give it a go. I did see the bird straight away.
credit: Me
The bird was seen once more the next evening, and not since !
Here's the bird's typical range:
