Thursley Common, 7th June 2023

It has been many years since I last visited Thursley Common in Surrey and I had forgotten what an amazing place it is. It is recovering well after the devastating fires of a few years ago and the new boardwalk was a great place to watch at least four Hobbies hunting.

One of the birds favoured a dead tree to eat its prey in, or to just have a short rest.

Capturing them against the trees was more difficult but very rewarding!

Without doubt one of my favourite birds! The boardwalk was also very good for spotting dragonflies including Four-spotted Chasers.

And a completely new species for me - Keeled Skimmer.

After all this excitement there was a birding lull with not about apart from a Stonechat and brief views of a Dartford Warbler. It was hot but quite breezy which did not help with smaller birds perching up. However, a Tree Pipit was a welcome sight.

Further round, Redstarts were calling and brief views of a couple of male birds were obtained but they were very flighty. A female allowed a couple of shots before she melted away.

And a family of Stonechat's allowed some great close up shots. Firstly the male.

And a juvenile.

And in the same spot, a pair of Linnets.

And almost back at the carpark when a rider and horse disturbed a group of five Woodlark which thankfully came back down to feed.

There was one further surprise before leaving as someone said there were Downy Emerald Dragonflies on The Moat. I managed some flight shots as they never landed and subsequently discovered they were indeed Brilliant Emerald Dragonflies, another new species for me.

But the day didn't end there! After a pub meal it was off to nearby Crookham Common to try for Nightjars. We did see more Woodlark and heard Tree Pipit while waiting and as dusk fell a few Nightjars started Churring. A short video below to show off that amazing sound with the bird resting on a branch.

I had no expectations of photographs but after ramping up the ISO I managed a couple of record shots.

Truly amazing birds! The old English name is Goatsucker as at one time they were believed to suckle milk from Goats at night. Bonus birds also included a calling Tawny Owl and a roding Woodcock. It was then back to the car with bats flitting around and a late journey home after a great day out.