Nightjars - Chobham Common, 19th June 2019

  Following a long month where I completed my GCSE exams, where the only place I really visited was my patch Morden Hall Park, I was thrilled to be offered the chance to finally see some Nightjars.
These have always been birds that were high up on my list of things I've wanted to see, especially due to my interests in bird song and communication.
So on the 19th June, under a week from finishing my final exam, my dad dropped me off at Shaun Ferguson's house - a local South African birder who I'd been trying to meet and go birding with ever since I first got Twitter last year. It was great to talk to Shaun and his famous birding father-in law from SA, as we went to a reliable site for Nightjars called Chobham Common, near Woking.
We arrived shortly after 9pm and we walked towards the best part of the heath to watch them, as Shaun knew the area well.

Short clip of the churring Nightjars here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zth6C0IRIac


  Before long, I heard my first churring bird, with a few quick fly-by's. I was fascinated to not only see them swooping around but uttering a few different calls as they were on the wing, with one particular bird flying extremely close to us. The Nightjars were also joined by several whistling Woodcock, while a few Tawny Owls called distantly.
We were able to listen to the Nightjars for a good 25 minutes or so, hearing at least 4+ individuals across the heathland. Seeing them for the first time was always going to be great, even if the weather wasn't ideal. Eventually, as it began to drizzle, the churring subsided so we began to head back to the car park, although we were stopped a few times by more Nightjars and also people monitoring the birds.

Chobham Common after dusk

  I'd like to thank Shaun for offering to take me to see them, probably out of pity for me! :)
Hopefully I'll be able to go birding with him again soon and I'm hopeful I'll meet some more Surrey Birders in the future.