An amazing evening up on Fire Beacon Hill, Sidmouth photographing artist Anne-Marie Culhane. Her love of and fascination with these enigmatic birds continues to inspire her. Anne-Marie was curious to experiment moving on the hillside with white hankies.  White card or material has been said to attract the interest of the male who is churring and staking out his territory, this may be because in the fading light they resemble the underside of another male’s wing or that they mimic the movement flashes of moths, one of its major sources of food.  She subsequently went up with Tony Whitehead (artist and RSPB) and then with 16 or so participants and Thelma Hulbert Gallery as part of Art on the East Devon Way. They spent time settling in and Field Sensing, sensitising to the sounds, sights and feeling of being there. Located on a grassy track on the border of the territory (thanks to information from Toby at RSPB).  As the sun set and fell into darkness they had close to churring, wing clapping, kericks and fly-by’s from the male nightjar and his partner. The bird seemed especially about the handkerchiefs. The artist also made a limited edition print run of hand-printed handkerchiefs using an ink drawing of a nightjar made earlier this year screen-printed onto hand-made organic cotton squares . A percentage of the profit will go to a local conservation charity on the pebblebed heaths where around 120 male nightjars make their homes in East Devon. Nightjars are now on the amber list for protected species and have seen a moderate increase in recent years.