Nightjar © Neil Aldridge
The eerie mechanical call and wing-slapping display of the nightjar returns to heaths and woodland clearings.
Rumour has it that patrolling male nightjars will come to investigate if you wave a white handkerchief in the air.
The nocturnal nightjar is one of our strangest birds. A wide-mouthed, insect-eating summer visitor to heathlands and young conifer plantations, they spend their days sitting on the floor, where they also nest. Cryptically camouflaged with an intricate mottling and patterning of greys and browns, they look just like a fallen log and are almost impossible to spot during the day.
But as dusk falls, all that changes. As the sun drops below the horizon and the light begins to thicken, a strange sound starts up. A mechanical whirring, reeling noise, almost like a distant motorbike engine, a churring that you just can’t place, so good is this ventriloquist at throwing his voice. And then, just as the darkness arrives, there he is: almost falcon like in shape, the silhouette of long stiff wings, and a long tail, a nightjar flying jerkily across the sky with odd claps of his wings: a male nightjar, displaying to attract the attentions of the nearby females.
How to do it
Arrive before dusk, and find a good spot on the heath where you get as wide a view as possible, preferably with open skies: it’s a lot easier to spot the birds in silhouette than amongst the dark trees. And as with all ground nesting birds, stay on the footpath and leave the dog at home. Rumour has it that patrolling male nightjars will come to investigate if you wave a (clean!) white handkerchief in the air. Give it a go!
If you can’t get to the special places listed below…Night time can be a great time to be out in the woods. Listen for owls hooting, foxes screaming, maybe a badger blundering through the undergrowth. You may be surprised at how many birds wake up for a short song half way through the night.
If you want to hear the distinctive churring of the nightjar, check out some great film clips on the BBC website.
Special spots
Chobham Common in Surrey is home to a flourishing population of nightjars. Make sure you come for the day, as there’s a lot to see on this, the largest National Nature Reserve in south east England and one of the finest lowland heaths in the world.
Berkshire, Greenham and Crookham Commons
Berkshire, Wildmoor Heath
Conwy, Cors Bodgynydd
Devon, Bovey Heathland
Devon, Chudleigh Knighton Heath
Devon, Bystock Pools
Dorset, Tadnoll and Winfrith
Dorset, Higher Hyde Heath
Gwynedd, Gwaith Powdwr
Norfolk, Roydon Common and Grimston Warren
Suffolk, Sutton and Hollesley Commons
Suffolk, Blaxhall Common
Surrey, Ockham and Wisley Commons
