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"Crepuscular events.......... one of my all time favourite birds is the enigmatic Nightjar. A summer migrant, it is an uncommon visitor added to which it is only really active at dawn and dusk (its crepuscular !) when the male bird makes a very bizarre churring noise to attract a mate and establish territory. They are a bird of heath land areas, needing bare ground under low growing or recently coppiced trees to nest in. This year, I have been taking part in a survey in Kent to try and find out just where they are still to be found - there are still a few pairs scattered along the greensand ridge. I had once heard from a local that he used to hear Nightjars in Old Park Wood in the 80s when the trees were a lot lower and the site was more healthy, but I had dismissed the idea of ever finding them in the wood now. But, nature has a way of surprising you. A couple of weeks ago we were camping in our wood and at about 10pm, I had to go back to the car to get something when I picked up what I was pretty certain was a Nightjar in full churring mode. Following the sound, I tracked it to the area of coppiced sweet chestnut by Keepers cottage. And there on a dead Oak limb was the bird itself, framed very nicely by a rapidly setting sun. I watched it for a good 15 minutes hawking for insects and then it became too dark for me to see it at all.
It would be good to think it had a mate sitting on eggs somewhere in the area and maybe Nightjars have managed to keep a foothold in the wood over the years, after all. It is also a useful reminder of just how important it is that we as owners continue to provide suitable habitat by coppicing and active woodland management."
Martin