Sammy Fraser RSPB Brecks Community Engagement Officer writes.....
I was lucky enough to grow up in a village tucked away in the middle of Dartmoor, and from a young age I remember being interested in nature whether it was the birds in our garden, dippers bobbing in the river or the underwater world in an old bath in my parent’s allotment. One of the most fulfilling things about my job is being able to provide young people with hands on connection to nature, what could be better than inspiring the next custodians of our natural world. The bird that has provided the best opportunity to connect young people with nature this year for me has to be to the Nightjar. Nightjars are one of the 12,845 species found in the Brecks. They migrate from Africa to breed and spend the summer in Thetford Forest, the UKs largest lowland pine forest, where they set up territories in young conifer plantations. They are strange looking birds, with pointed wings and long tails their shape is similar to that of a kestrel or cuckoo, but their flight makes them look like large moths or ‘puppets’. Nightjars are shrouded in mystery and folk lore, they are also known as goatsuckers. This unusual nickname is thought to stem from their old habitat of feeding amongst goat and cattle herds. We now know that they would have been making the most of the insects feeding on the dung, but we used to believe that they would steal the milk from their livestock. This stealing of milk is also thought to be associated with the mischievous night spirit of ‘Puck’, who would lead travellers astray and turn milk sour in farmyards.Thetford Forest and Heathland in the Brecks provides one of the best places to see them, and this year I ran my first ever camping event in Thetford Forest and with help from the British Trust for Ornithology and a fantastic team of volunteers we were able to run an event to remember! I waited with nervousness as we reached the point where the nightjars had performed so well the night before, but our star nightjar performed again and I was able to provide many of those who came along with their first encounter with a churring nightjar. Needless to say there were many happy faces! What made the encounter even more enjoyable was the look on the children’s faces of awe as they listened to the alien sound of the nightjar. To add to this we were treated with squeaking woodcock, bats and over 20 female glow worms- a competition soon ensued as to who could spot the most glow-worms! The nightjars kept on performing all night by churring around our camp site, perhaps leading to a lack of sleep for some!
Nightjar or 'goatsucker' by Andy Hay (www.rspbimages.com)
But it’s not just nightjars that have provided this experience; sometimes it is the smaller everyday things that really inspire people, on a guided walk in the middle of Thetford a tiny wren singing its heart out had us watching and listening in wonder at its song. If you want to get inspired by some of the wildlife found in the Brecks why not come along to some of our free events? You can find them on our events page www.rspb.org.uk/events/ or you can keep up to date on our Facebook pages www.facebook.com/RSPBNorfolk or www.facebook.com/RSPBSuffolk