As we continue our week in Suffolk, it was time to find my two target birds - Hobby and Nightjar. I chose an area we had seen earlier in the week, close to Dunwich named Westleton Heath. On a short walk along the track (above), we first found a family of Stonechats with several young birds being fed, among the gorse bushes. The female Stonechat. Woodlarks could be heard singing and at least four flew around, perching in small birch trees. A Cuckoo flew over the heath and a Jay appeared twice during the walk. It wasn't long before our Hobby appeared, the day had been warm and dragonflies were in the air, providing the Hobby's food supply. With swift dives the Hobby took dragonflies mostly at low level, rising up to eat them on the wing as they do. The Hobby was watched for about ten minutes, giving a wonderful aerobatic display as it plucked dragonflies from the sky. While watching the Hobby, I was hearing the short 'cherrr' of Dartford Warblers, coming from more than one location. This was an extra treat, having only had a glimpse of one at Dunwich. Close to where I stood, a pair of Dartford Warblers were feeding their young. The adults were in and out of a dense bush constantly. The male Dartford Warbler. One of the juvenile warblers emerging. The quest for Nightjars was a different matter altogether. It was nearing 10-00pm, there was little light left in the sky and a full moon was rising over Dunwich heath. Calls from Nightjars came from at least three birds and the wait began. I was aware that I was becoming cold very quickly and it wasn't long before I returned to the car. The car's temperature display was showing 6C, a dramatic drop in temperature once the sun was down. Maybe this was why the Nightjars were not active and I'll have to leave it, for another time.
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