Mythical “goatsucker” bird makes comeback in South Downs National Park -

They are one of Britain’s most elusive birds, known for their “churring” song when darkness falls and a supernatural reputation thanks to their mythical ability to steal milk from goats.

Now the nightjar is making a remarkable comeback in the South Downs National Park, thanks to nature recovery efforts and better habitat management.

Since recording began in the late 1990s, 2025 was a record year for the camouflaged bird, which migrates every spring to fly 4,000 miles from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the lowland heaths of East Hampshire in the National Park.

An ecological survey revealed 109 nightjar territories – the most ever recorded in the “Special Protection Area” that includes Woolmer Forest and the Commons of Shortheath, Bramshott, Ludshott, Broxhead and Kingsley.

The population is estimated to have doubled in the past five years and there has been a significant increase from just last year when 78 were recorded.