Nightjars are nocturnal birds and can be seen hawking for food at dusk and dawn. With pointed wings and long tails their shape is similar to a kestrel or cuckoo. Their cryptic, grey-brown, mottled, streaked and barred plumage provides ideal camouflage in the daytime. They have an almost supernatural reputation with their silent flight and their mythical ability to steal milk from goats; hence the alternative name. The first indication that a nightjar is near is usually the male's churring song, rising and falling with a ventriloquial quality.
Also on Mike's list of sightings at Lower Treave this year are Hen Harrier and Cuckoo (not to be mistaken for a goatsucker).
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