Alton, Hampshire Wildlife: Nightjars at Kingsley and Shortheath Commons

Tuesday, 11 June 2019

Nightjars at Kingsley and Shortheath Commons

A fine evening till dusk at Kingsley Common on 5 June was rewarded with a total of three Nightjars, with two churring males and a female. A lovely red sunset and a fine new moon added to the atmosphere.

A brief video of a flying Nightjar...

On the 7th June I checked out Shortheath Common where a churring Nightjar was present - it sang from various sites on the reserve. It was warm enough for a few Field Crickets to be singing at dusk. At the pond, a Noctule Bat was hawking quite low over the water.

Kingsley Pond at dusk:

Alton Wildlife Blog

The purpose of this blog is to report on the wildlife of the area around Alton, Hampshire, UK.

All types of wildlife are covered, within an (approx) 15 mile radius of the town. This encompasses a wide range of habitats, including woodland and farmland, the prime heath-land of both the Wield and the Thames Basin, chalk download, and river valleys such as the Wey and Itchen.

Within Alton itself, then Kings Pond and the Flood Meadows are of particular interest.

If you have a similar interest in the area, then we recommend Alton Natural History Society, which runs a programme of indoor meetings in the winter, and outdoor field meetings from spring through to Autumn. See http://altonnaturalhistory.webnode.com/ for more details.