I'm yet to actually see a Nightjar, however! All that may change tonight as I venture out with Steve Williams (Head Ecologist), Fergus Collins (Editor of Countryfile Magazine) and Paul Joy (BFF). We hope to at least hear a Nightjar or two in a location not that far from home. Giving that they make an incredible noise and for the most part remain nocturnal, I'll be bringing my recording gear along with me. I may even get some recordings of an owl but who knows. I'll post any success tomorrow as I'll be arriving home very late.
Nightjar Success!
Well! It was MUCH later than we anticipated but the wait well well worth it! We arrived around 8:30 to scout the area and look for any pockets of habitat that we thought would be good for feeding Nightjars but that particular area didn't exactly produce exactly what we were expecting. We waited patiently as the sky got darker and darker, during which we were being bitten by thousands of midges... but all that biting was worth it come 11:00pm where in a last bid to get something, whacked my recording gear up to 10 and scanned the moors which resulted in a faint sound of a Nightjar to which I squeaked squeaked in excitement. We then had another 2 bouts of song but it was so far away, probably about 70-100 meters away from us. If the recording gear wasn't whacked up to full, I simply wouldn't have heard it. I managed to filter the recording so you can hear the frequencies being produced the bird a little clearer. What an incredible bird! I will be returning to this location again for another late night session. How amazing! And most amazingly, right on my doorstep!