creatures of the night

We waited until 8:30 to take our walk with Beatrice in the park. Things had cooled a bit by then. In the near-dark, we saw a small owl sitting on a fence. I could not make out the species--it was quite small. Perhaps the owl was an immature barred owl. Then we saw the long,swooping form of a Common Nighthawk hawking for insects over the pond. In the distance, we saw lightning from a super-cell miles away.It flashed and flashed. Later we heard on the news it was way out near Paris, Texas. That seems like a long way away to me to still be visible.