On the 5th October 2019, Fergus Auld reported to Dot Blakely that whilst out fishing, he had observed a Nightjar along the River Maine at Galgorm on the 3rd October. On Sunday 6th, a number of birders took advantage of his offer to view the bird and it duely showed briefly at dusk. Some poor quality pictures were taken in the diminishing light but when circuated the following morning, Josh Jones felt that the bird was actually a Common Nighthawk ad news was shared widely about it. Later that same afternoon, the bird was actually seen by Stuart Piner who had travelled over from England for it. By dusk, circa 50 birders were on site and were rewarded with excellent views of the bird as it hawked insects over the river, often coming within a few feet of those in attendance.
The following day seen more birders visit the site and amazingly the bird was found day roosting. It then showed, often roosting in the day but also feeding along the river at dusk until Thursday 17th October. During this period, it is estimated that at least 500 birders viewed it and it stayed loyal to the same area of the river.
The bird was not seen in NI after the 17th October but amazingly it was photographed by Lewis Newman over Regents Park, London on Saturday 19th October. Unusually for an autumn migrant it was an adult male. This was the first record of ths north American species for Northern Ireland.
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| Nighthawk - Jonny Andrews |
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| Nighthawk - Mervyn Campbell |
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