Nightjar

Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus A long-winged, long-tailed, cuckoo like bird, found on heath-land fringes, where it nests on the ground amongst bracken and birch scrub. Their conspicuous 'churring' song is heard at dusk from May to August. Nightjars are known to appear on Hopcott Common where management has helped to create a suitable woodland and heathland transition to encourage breeding.

The strange churring call of the nightjar is an unforgettable sound. If you are lucky you may see the bird itself against the moon as it pursues moths in its silent floating flight. As well as the sustained rising and falling churr, the males also clap their wings together as part of their attempts to attract a mate. Beautifully camouflaged, this denizen of the night is seldom seen during the day as it sits motionless along a branch or on the ground, its speckled and barred brown plumage blending into the background.

The bird has declined dramatically, principally as a result of the loss of its traditional lowland heath habitat, much of which has been ploughed up or planted with trees. Even if the heathland remains, lack of management- allowing it to scrub up, or overgrazing can make it unsuitable for nightjars. What they like is a mosaic of tall and short vegetation with scattered trees as song posts, and patches of bare ground where they can lay their eggs in a shallow scrape.

Fortunately it has now found a new habitat- clearings in newly felled plantations. Recently extensive felling of conifers in the north east part of the Exmoor National Park has created ideal conditions for this bird. It is in these areas, especially on Croydon Hill, that you are most likely to see or hear nightjars. Try following the road from Luxborough to Dunster and stopping by a clearing in the forest on a still night between May and late July. You should be able hear or possible see one from the road side without causing any disturbance. To increase the number of this elusive bird the National Park Authority is actively managing several areas of lowland heath where it occurs in cooperation with the landowners. Forest Enterprise has incorporated more open areas into the long term plans for its plantations so that even when the new trees have grown up there will still be suitable areas for nightjars.

Contributed by: Henry Timms, Jane Tolbert