Last Friday evening at c. 9.15, an early dusk, dim and drizzly . From an upstairs window and at about thirty yards distant I watched a bird girating at high speed, between the mature tree canopy (about 6’) and the ground. My immediate impression was of vertical figures of eight at extraordinary speed and very fast wing beats. It then seemed to disappear and almost immediately I saw it again a few seconds later, it appeared to be squatting on the apex and in line with the darkgreen frame of the greenhouse about 20 yds away, after a short time it flew off into or through the hedge just above the place it had been performing. The light was not good, but I was able to see that the wings were very sharply pointed and the bird seemed to be brown. The manoeuvrability of the flight pattern and speed and tempo of the wing beats seemed similar to a bat. I estimated the wingspan at 12’’-15’’ I could not guess the length as, when it did alight, it was aligned with me. The whole sequence was probably not more than 20 seconds.
This all took place 40yds from the A482 and just on the edge of the village, grazed fields and hedgerows some, like behind the house, are full of mature trees. There are plenty of insects along this hedgerow and most of the bats in our house roost fly along it when they first emerge.
My first thoughts were Nightjar, though it didn’t seem big enough; is this part of their hunting behaviour?
Can anyone help with more suggestions? There must be someone who knows something out there!!
Thanks in anticipation,
David Lucas,
Felinfach