...a great description of the nightjar from Stephen Moss and Brett Westwood in their book ‘Tweet of the Day’.
The nightjar is a heathland specialist and has been a beneficiary of the heathland restoration work that we’ve been doing here over recent years.
A master of camouflage during the day, this fabulous bird stays hidden, the mottled brown, black and buff feathers a perfect blend with the heathland floor.
Photo by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)
But as dusk descends he wakens and reminds any rivals that this is his patch, choosing a suitable perch from which he utters his odd song. The nightjar’s song cannot be described as beautiful...
“ The churring sound, delivered from a static perch on a branch or treetop, has a rather unworldly, machine-like quality. Only when it stops do you have a chance of seeing this enigmatic bird, whose appearance may be announced with a brusque clapping of its long, slender wings. Especially under the light of the moon, the snow-white patches near the male nightjar’s wingtips reveal the bird to its rivals and audience alike.”
It sounds as though we have three churring nightjars this summer and they can be heard from the viewpoint on our heathland trail after the sun has set. On our ‘after dark’ event on Friday night, one of the nightjars was even seen heckling a tawny owl that had stolen his favourite perch. Fantastic!
Be prepared to stay up late though – the activity seems to be starting just after 9.30 pm. I would also suggest wearing insect repellent – the midges seemed to find one of my arms particularly tasty!
We are holding several more evening walks when we’ll go out and look for nightjars alongside other nocturnal wildlife such as bats and moths. Our ‘three churs and a clap!’ nightjar walks are taking place on Thursday 05 June and Wednesday 11 June – we do still have some places on both of these walks, so get in touch if you’d like to join in. (Call the visitor centre on 01798 875851).
Stephen Moss and Brett Westwood’s ‘Tweet of the Day’ has been published as an accompaniment to the acclaimed Radio 4 series. It’s a lovely book; the bird descriptions are evocative and include folklore and behaviour as well as descriptions of the song. And the illustrations are beautiful. What’s more it is currently our ‘Book of the Month’ and before 26 June you can buy it in our shop for the discounted price of £20 (saving £5 from the RRP of £25).