I know its only anecdotal, but I have definitely noticed a diminuition of common species which once thrived in a city or suburban environment. Some creatures are prospering, in Florida, coyotes and armadillos have moved in, coons and possums are doing well, and there is an alligator population explosion. Although the number of bird species has plummeted, the total number of birds has gone up. The ecosystem is becoming less diverse, even where productivity has picked up. Sort of like the national economy.

Even the big lubber grasshopper, Romalea microptera, which used to be common in the cities, now only seems to be surviving in the country.

Cucujos were gigantic (1 and 1/2″ black click beetles with bright green luminescent spots on their thoraxes. They looked like glowing eyes. Two or three in a coke bottle gave off enough light to read by.

In a totally unrelated story, the following year, Carmela came to Miami Beach on vacation and she invited me to stay with her and be her translator. One morning, while paying the breakfast bill at a diner, she reached over to a book rack and picked up a paperback copy of “Huckleberry Finn”. She handed it to me as we left the place and told me, “Here, read this. It is the only piece of literature your country has produced.”

Like Tom said Humming Birds are plentiful in my neck of the woods if you use a feeder.

They are also called nightjars or goatsuckers, although as far as I know, they are not related to chupacabras.

http://www.schmoker.org/BirdPics/Photos/Goatsuckers/CONI14.jpg

Flowers are so plentiful this time of year, feeders tend to get short shrift.

To the best of my knowledge, there are still hummingbirds in Florida. Local conditions make a difference: like I said, you won’t see a lot at a feeder if there’s loads of natural food nearby.

Never seen fireflies out here in California, but I see them in my parents’ back yard when we visit there in the summer in Minnesota.

When I moved here there were loads of mockingbirds, going at it all night. They faded out for a few years, and now seem to be back again. I don’t pay much attention. There are crows aplenty, and when I fill my seed feeder, I see lots of other birds. Anywhere there’s water and grass, like golf courses, the Canadian geese abound, and cover everything with shit.

Thanks for the nighthawk reference. In my book I’ve been looking for an alternative to “bats” as frantic night-flying animals, and nighthawks, which I’d never heard of, work much better.