Welcome to our South East Christmas Countdown no.7.
Did you guess the nightjar’s nickname is goatsucker? There’s a clue at the bottom to tomorrow’s story. If you missed no.8 in the Countdown, you can read it here.
Christmas is a time of celebration! In our countdown to Christmas, we would like to share with you some of this year’s success stories, about some of our most threatened birds in the South East. In September, the State of Nature 2016 report was published. It highlights the alarming decline of many UK species, but it also showed that we can turn the fortunes of our wildlife around, given determination, resources, public support and conservation action.
About nightjars
These ground-nesting birds are very vulnerable to disturbance, particularly from dogs running loose in heathland areas during the nesting season. As their name suggests, nightjars are nocturnal. An old name for them is “goatsucker”, as they were often seen in goat and sheep fields. The ancient myth was that they had gone there to suck milk from the teats of goats, but they actually feed on the insects that are attracted to livestock.
Nightjars are elusive, but if you are lucky, you might hear the haunting “churring” song of the males in June. This is a migratory species, coming to the UK to breed between late April and September.
Over the last 10 years, the RSPB has acquired two new heathland reserves in the South East: RSPB Hazeley Heath in Hampshire and RSPB Broadwater Warren in Kent. Here we are creating, restoring and protecting this globally rare habitat.
Good news from 2016
This summer we had 31 breeding pairs of breeding nightjars recorded across our heathland reserves. At RSPB Broadwater Warren the number of breeding nightjars increased from four pairs in 2013 to seven pairs in 2016. This follows the removal of 65 hectares of man-made conifer plantation, allowing the site to be restored to heathland. Nightjars were moved from red to being amber-listed on the 2016 Birds of Conservation Concern list because they have returned to parts of their former UK range.
Our work wouldn’t be possible without your continued support, through membership, volunteering and even your Christmas purchases in our shops. On behalf of our teams and all the wildlife you have helped us to save, thank you, and have a great Christmas!
Our story for July
We’ll celebrate another story tomorrow, so keep an eye out for it, but in the meantime here’s a clue to keep you guessing…
Which of our conservation priority species can sleep during flight? (hint – it’s not Santa!)