RSPB 'OVER THE MOON' AT NESTING RETURN OF NIGHTJARS TO BEDFORDSHIRE HQ

 
NIGHTJARS have returned to breed at The Lodge nature reserve, home to the RSPB’s UK headquarters in Sandy, Bedfordshire, for the first time since 1973. 

A single pair of the nocturnal birds has nested and raised chicks on an area of restored heathland on the reserve.

Local birdwatcher Neil Bostock was the first to discover the birds on 3 June, when he heard the “churring” call of a male nightjar.

Later, the male and female birds were seen engaging in mating displays, signally their intent to breed. 

Nightjars nest on the ground, using their cryptic camouflage to stay hidden during the day, and only come out after dark to feed on moths and other flying insects, making them notoriously elusive and difficult to see.

This means that while all the signs point to their having a nest and chicks, confirmation that they have successfully reared young, and how many, will have to wait until after they have finished nesting.

Staff are naturally delighted.

Enthused Peter Bradley, senior site manager at the reserve: “We’re over the moon!

“The birds have chosen to nest on a part of the reserve where, some 15 years ago,  we expressly set about recreating the right kind of heathland habitat.”

Between 1972 and 1992, the nightjar’s range in the UK contracted in area by almost 50 per cent due primarily to habitat loss. 

Since then though, there are signs that numbers have increased, down to efforts to restore lost heathland habitat and an increase in clear felling of pine forests, creating young open woodland in which the species can nest.

The nightjar is a summer visitor to the UK, spending the winter in Sub-Saharan West Africa.
At dusk in the breeding season, male nightjars emit a strange mechanical “churring” call that rises and falls as the bird turns its head and then takes flight, twisting and turning silently as it glides quickly across the heath.

When displaying, the males clap their wings, making a slapping sound, while showing their conspicuous white wing-patches to attract the female. At the same time, the male calls a liquidy “qwip qwip” in the air!

As ground-nesting birds, nightjars are particularly vulnerable to disturbance when they are nesting. RSPB reserve staff have been keen to do as much as possible to give the birds the peace and quiet they need.