The Nightjar is a summer visitor to the UK but spends its winter in scrubby grasslands in Africa. Conservation of this species is complex, as vulnerabilities exist in their summer, winter and migration stepping-stone habitats and food sources, all of which may be impacted by climate change.

In the UK, the Nightjar is primarily a bird of lowland heathland, bracken covered hillsides and open woods, with felled and young plantation woodlands becoming important habitats more recently.  Gwent’s Nightjars appear very much dependent on the availability of forestry plantation clear-fells or restocks at suitably open stages, with populations dwindling and shifting when suitable areas become more forested.  

They feed mainly at dawn and dusk on airborne insects, with moths and beetles making up a large part of the diet. 

In Gwent, their population and distribution has fluctuated greatly since they were first officially recorded here in 1926. Major threats to Nightjar include large-scale loss of heathland to agriculture, construction and afforestation (particularly following the Second World War) as well as afforestation of clear-fell sites.