Wild Wednesday – Nightjar
The return of the nightjar is a conservation success story - one that belongs to the South Downs, West Sussex, and everyone who cares about nature thriving on our doorstep.
As spring approaches and the evenings lengthen, keep an ear out for that eerie, beautiful churr drifting across the heath. It's the sound of a wild comeback worth celebrating.
If you've ever wandered across the South Downs on a warm summer evening, you might have heard it - a strange, mechanical “churr… churr… churr…” in the dusk.
Once fading from our landscapes, the nightjar is now making a remarkable comeback across the South Downs National Park, which stretches through Hampshire, East Sussex, and of course West Sussex. Their return tells an inspiring story of resilience, conservation, and the power of caring for our rare heathland habitats.
With mottled grey‑brown plumage, nightjars are masters of camouflage, blending perfectly into the leaf of the heath. They hide by day and emerge at twilight, floating silently on long wings to snatch moths and beetles mid‑air. They spend winters in the Democratic Republic of Congo, travelling around 4,000 miles each spring to breed on UK heaths from April to August.
The South Downs' lowland heath provides ideal ground‑nesting sites for the nightjar. This habitat is now as rare as rainforest, making it a priority for conservation. Thanks to extensive restoration by land managers, rangers, volunteers, and local communities, these heaths are once again thriving.
Ranger teams have been working to:
- restore open heathland
- manage vegetation
- encourage responsible dog walking during nesting season
reduce disturbance to wildlife
And their efforts are paying off.
Recent ecological surveys show a truly heartening trend:
- 78 individual nightjars recorded last year within the park
- 109 territories, the highest ever recorded in the Special Protection Area spanning heaths
- populations have doubled in the past five years following significant declines in the 1970s to 1990s
This resurgence highlights successful habitat management and growing public awareness about protecting fragile heathland ecosystems.
What to listen for this spring
If you're heading out into the South Downs on a warm evening between May and July, keep your ears open. The nightjar's call is unmistakable, described by the RSPB as sounding “more alien lifeform than shy brown bird … a strange clockwork toy steadily unwinding.”
At dusk, you might also glimpse their silent, buoyant flight as males perform wing‑clapping displays over the heather.
How we can help
Nightjars nest directly on the ground, making them vulnerable. You can support their resurgence by:
- keeping dogs on leads on heathland during nesting season
- staying on marked paths
- avoiding disturbing scrub and open heath
- supporting local heathland conservation projects
Small actions like these help safeguard not just nightjars, but woodlarks, Dartford warblers, reptiles, and countless specialist insects that depend on these rare landscapes.
Read more here: Mythical “goatsucker” bird makes comeback in South Downs National Park - South Downs National Park Authority