The Sandlings are very important to nightjars - 5%
of the British population nest here.
Nightjars will usually rear two breeds of young during
their summer stay. The female leaves her first batch of young 12
days after hatching. The male will then look after them whilst she
lays a second batch of eggs. As these hatch the first brood are
ready to fend for themselves. The male then joins her to look after
the second brood.
Eggs are usually laid so that they hatch during a
full moon - so the good visibility allows more insects to be caught
to feed the nest of hungry mouths.
As their name suggests, nightjars are only active
between dawn and dusk when they are on the wing catching insects.
To help them catch insects whilst flying they have whiskers either
side of their wide opening mouth.
This is when you are most likely to see one. They
prefer forest clearings or heath with scattered trees - but their
brown mottled feathers offer excellent camouflage and make them
tricky to spot.
During the day they either sit on the branch of a
tree or on the nest - a simple patch of bare ground.
Spotting nightjars
Your best option is to venture out at dusk and listen for the haunting
'churr' of nightjars across the heaths. You will also hear other
sounds, including a clap created as its wings slap together over
its back, and a coo-ic call which accompanies its flight.
Nightjars in flight are hard to mistake for any other
bird. You will see them as a silhouette, flying low and jerkily
, like a puppet. The males are easier to spot as they have white
patches on their wings and tails.
Once you have located nightjars, keep fairly still
and they will be keen to come and give you a look - if you wear
something white they will often be more curious!
Looking to the future
Until recently, Sandlings nightjars were on the decline. The active
removal of scrub from neglected heaths and the 1987 storm have created
more open heath and forest clearings and numbers have risen again.
Nightjars will continue to return as summer visitors if we continue
our efforts to look after the Suffolk Sandlings.
This
information is taken from the Sandlings Walk pack. The
Sandlings Walk is a 60 mile long distance footpath linking heaths
between Ipswich and Southwold. It was created as part of the work
supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund to safeguard the Sandlings.
Purchase
a Sandlings Walk pack
