Nestflix and quill

A reality show with a twist has gone live in Cork as two pairs of Leeside lovebirds (literally) are livestreamed as they build their nests.

The livestreams, which will feature two pairs of choughs, are an initiative of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) in the Cork region. There will be one livestream at Mizen Head and one in Clonakilty.

The livestreams were set up to allow further monitoring of a sample of the chough population during the nesting season.

There are up to 900 pairs of choughs breeding in Ireland, with 30% of the national population found in county Cork. Fifteen Special Protection Areas (SPAs) offer protection to breeding chough around the country, with four of those SPAs located in Cork.

In recent years, NPWS conservation rangers based in county Cork have observed some chough pairs moving from their traditional coastal sites where they mainly nest in crevices in sea cliffs, to building their nests further inland in old buildings including cattle sheds, haybarns, derelict cottages, and even bridges.

Research by NPWS staff suggests that around a third of the chough population in county Cork is now nesting in buildings and the organisation is concerned that the birds may face additional challenges in their new surroundings.

According to the NPWS, their eggs and chicks appear to be especially vulnerable to predators such as rats and crows. Human activity can also cause some disturbance to their nests and sites may be lost due to buildings being renovated or collapsing. In order to overcome some of these threats, NPWS is erecting chough nest boxes at particularly vulnerable sites.

Clare Heardman, NPWS District Conservation Officer said: “The livestream ‘Nestflix’ cam will allow better understanding of some of these factors which impact on the chough population, and how we can protect this Annex 1 population in the future. The breeding behaviour of chough is normally hidden from human eyes because of their traditional crevice-nesting habit, so the cameras will provide a rare glimpse into all stages of breeding from nest-building to the chicks fledging.”