Ground-nesting birds

admin
, 04 July 2017
Ground-nesting birds
woodlark / Derek Middleton

By Charlotte Owen

WildCall Officer

Think of a bird’s nest and your mind will probably wander high up into the branches of a tree or hedgerow – but not all birds have such lofty ambitions. Many species nest on the ground, from coastal seabirds to wetland waders and the more familiar ‘farmland’ birds like lapwing and skylark. This strategy does present some obvious risks and the nests tend to be well camouflaged, so it’s always worth watching your step during the breeding season (March to September).

Heathlands in particular are home to a number of ground-nesting specialists, tucked away among the purple heather and coconut-scented gorse. Patches of shorter grass and sandy soil under the dense vegetation form ideal nesting sites for the scarce and secretive woodlark, slightly smaller than its cousin the skylark but gifted with an equally beautiful, warbling song. Nesting usually begins early in the year, with eggs sometimes laid before the end of March, and the nest is made from tightly-woven dried grass and moss. Females usually lay between three and five brown-speckled eggs and can raise two or three broods each year.

Even trickier to see is the enigmatic nightjar, a nocturnal bird with such impressive camouflage that it is barely visible during the daytime. Nightjars migrate here from Africa and begin nesting in May – although there isn’t actually a nest, and the eggs are laid straight onto bare ground. The female’s bark-like plumage blends perfectly with her surroundings and if disturbed, she’ll shut her eyes and flatten herself to the ground, trying to disappear. When a predator ventures too close, she’ll flutter along the ground feigning injury to draw it away from the nest. The eggs hatch after 17-21 days and it’s a further 32 days until the chicks are fully independent, after which the pair may go on to have a second brood – spending a significant amount of time grounded and vulnerable. Curious dogs can inadvertently scare ground-nesting birds and cause them to abandon their nests, so please do keep them on the lead and stick to the paths to help protect these wonderful birds.

nightjar / Derek Middleton

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Comments

  • Nicola Young:

    We have a woodlark nest in the grounds of our flat at poynings just found by my dog who was on a lead so i am now worried in case mummy abandons the nest. 5 eggs in it.

    16 May 2018 17:59:44

  • Daniel Freestone:

    I was recently up at my mechanics compound where I was on a quad bike going round this set of tires out the corner of my eye I see a flash of brown, I first think it’s a rat as it’s rat sized, so I fly around the tires again to see this brown bird with I think a red patch on its head so I turn the quad off and investigate to find it has chicks under the tires little black and white zebra things, no idea what they were, either way, I couldn’t get a pic as they got a bit panicked by probably the quad and myself being there so I left them be but I was curious about what sort of birds they were.

    30 Jun 2019 08:35:00

  • Daniel Freestone:

    I was recently up at my mechanics compound where I was on a quad bike going round this set of tires out the corner of my eye I see a flash of brown, I first think it’s a rat as it’s rat sized, so I fly around the tires again to see this brown bird with I think a red patch on its head so I turn the quad off and investigate to find it has chicks under the tires little black and white zebra things, no idea what they were, either way, I couldn’t get a pic as they got a bit panicked by probably the quad and myself being there so I left them be but I was curious about what sort of birds they were.

    30 Jun 2019 09:29:00

  • Daniel Freestone:

    I was recently up at my mechanics compound where I was on a quad bike going round this set of tires out the corner of my eye I see a flash of brown, I first think it’s a rat as it’s rat sized, so I fly around the tires again to see this brown bird with I think a red patch on its head so I turn the quad off and investigate to find it has chicks under the tires little black and white zebra things, no idea what they were, either way, I couldn’t get a pic as they got a bit panicked by probably the quad and myself being there so I left them be but I was curious about what sort of birds they were.

    06 Jul 2019 23:01:00

  • Bithi:

    Amazing

    16 Feb 2021 16:17:00

  • Julann Wiles:

    I have a pigeon nesting in the middle of my lawn how can I protect it

    12 Apr 2021 15:23:00

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