One up for the park- a juvenile long-tailed Nightjar

Early April the Long-tailed Nightjar was seen frequenting the open ground near the Cempedak Hill and I was hoping that the adult bird will produce an offspring.  Today, after a lapse of a few weeks I decided to catch up with the bird.  To my greatest surprise I saw a young Nightjar chick at the spot where the adult frequented before.  I did not have the chance to see the eggs since I was away in Kuching.  Nevertheless, the presence of the juvenile Nightjar  is one up for the park as a wildlife sanctuary.

The Large-tailed Nightjar in plain sight

3 April'17

3 April'17

6 April'17
Large-tailed Nightjar nesting on open ground, Cempedak Hill, Zone G.

I have been tracking the presence of a Large-tailed Nightjar near the tall Cempedak tree at Zone G.  She is of course a perfect camouflage.  You cannot actually recognise it immediately because its body and feathers resemble the colours of dead leaves, vegetative matter, wood, stones or just earth. Furthermore it does not utter any sound or call.  Whether the bird is going to lay eggs, time will tell.  But I'm on the watchout from now on.

Photoshoot session with the Large-Tailed Nightjar

Under a little shade of oil palm leaves - Large-Tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus)
Location : Zone G

She's a perfect camouflage. Looking tired after a busy night she laid her body on just bare ground. Silently I approached her and moved gradually from left to right. Do I look good in my dreamy eyes?...

Here are the results of the photoshoot session this morning....

Birdwatch album - The Large-tailed Nightjar

Large-tailed Nightjar
(Caprimulgus macrurus)

 One of my most spectacular moments in birdwatching is to observe a pair of adult Large-tailed Nightjar brooding and incubating their treasured eggs over a two months period.  I took many visits to capture the story from eggs, chicks and juvenile transformation.  Finally when their wings were strong I was overwhelmed with joy to let them took flight for a free life.  Such joys are memories that would make me realise why we should conserve the wildlife not merely for the love of nature but also the continuation of a long line of evolution.

Young chicks of the Large-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus)

The night jar incubating the eggs,,,

Eggs are laid directly  on bare ground and blotched.

Getting ready for freedom flight....

Young chick with developing wings, but not strong enough for flight....