Nightjar Nuptuals

On a fairly cool Tuesday evening, 10 of us gathered at Llanwonno a couple of weeks earlier than usual for a Nightjar quest. On arrival at our usual site, Redpolls buzzed around overhead, and immediately I noticed a small bird in a dead tree nearby. It was a male Redstart, but what a strange place to see one. As it was still quite light, we had a short wait for any activity, but at 9.20pm, we had our first sight of a Nightjar. Much churring was heard, and excellent flight and perched views were had by all. The froglike croak was heard a few times, as was some wingclapping. Aerial chases happened over our heads, and the birds were generally very active. An appalling picture! It appeared that they were still pairing off, and so the timing was excellent. At about 10.00pm, we headed back to the cars, and in most cases to the pub, serended by more churring, a distant Tawny Owl, and an enthusiastic Skylark.