Nightjars are of course crepuscular birds and I usually go to look for them in the early summer around sunset; it's also possible to find them just after dawn as I mentioned in a recent posting. Coming across one in the middle of the day is quite unusual but that is just what happened on Wednesday as I cycled down a forest track near Cellfrouin. A female suddenly flew up from just ahead of me and then proceeded to fly around me calling loudly. Sometimes it hovered just a few yards away at head height and sometimes it setttled in a nearby bush but still flapping its wings.All this was I suppose a distraction technique as I must have been very near its nest (there was some bracken close by). So as not to cause it more distress I rode away still hearing it calling in the distance.
The only other sighting of note in the forest was a small flock of hawfinches.
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