‘Nestflix’ returns for a new season in Cork

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is inviting the public to tune in again this year to ‘Nestflix’.

Two new livestreams have gone live and show pairs of Chough as they go about building their nests, raising their young and carrying out noisy ‘conversations’ with each other.

Two pairs of Chough recently returned to Mizen Head and Clonakilty and are now beginning to build their nests.

Over the past few years, the NPWS at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has installed cameras at two unnamed Cork locations to observe and better understand the behaviour of Chough and what helps them to breed and thrive.

Clare Heardman, Ecologist with the NPWS commented, “Chough traditionally nest in crevices in sea cliffs, but some are changing their nesting habits.”

“In Cork more than a third of Chough are now nesting in buildings such as cattle sheds, hay barns and abandoned buildings,” he added. “This has facilitated the installation of the live nest cameras so the public can get a rare insight into a normally hidden part of the Chough’s life.”

The Chough is the rarest member of the crow family in Ireland and is largely confined to the south and west coasts.

The Irish name of the species – Cág cosdearg translates as red-legged jackdaw. They are insectivores, using their curved red bills to probe the ground for insects and other invertebrates including beetle larvae and ants.

There are an estimated 900 pairs of Chough breeding in Ireland, according to the NPWS.

Cork is the stronghold for the species with 30% of the national population.

Due to its scarcity in Europe, Chough are protected under Irish national legislation and also the EU Birds Directive, and Ireland has designated a number of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) to help conserve it.