This video showcases survey efforts to confirm the presence of Nightjar in the south-east of Ireland in 2024. The mysterious and elusive Nightjar is one of our most intriguing birds. A summer visitor with perfectly camouflaged bark-like plumage, it can be incredibly difficult to spot, only revealing its presence after dark, when the male engages in it’s hypnotic ‘churring’ song.
With only sporadic records of breeding over recent decades, mostly in the south and south-east, the general consensus was that we had effectively lost Nightjars, despite few attempts to prove otherwise. This survey coordinated by BirdWatch Ireland and supported by Kilkenny County Council, Wexford County Council and the National Parks and Wildlife Service through the Local Biodiversity Action Fund confirms that this species still survives in the southeast.
