Wildlife rescuer Debbie Nelson, who does business under the name Debbie Doolittle, was excited to have the rare opportunity to work with a nightjar in September 2025, the BBC reported.
Nightjars are nocturnal birds sometimes mistaken for birds of prey. They are mottled brown with surprisingly wide mouths, and they have a call that has sometimes been compared to a spinning wheel or a wind-up toy. More commonly found in the southern parts of the UK, they are rarely ever seen in Northern Ireland.
However, this one somehow made its way as far north as Belfast, where it was found behind a trash can in the street.
"They were about to put some rubbish in the bin and they saw the bird behind it," Doolittle told BBC News NI. She speculated that the bird had likely been disoriented and run into something.
Being called in to help with this specimen was an exciting opportunity for the wildlife rescuer. The population of nightjars has decreased dramatically in the UK in recent decades. The majority of their diet consists of insects, and the major increase in the use of insecticides has also poisoned everything that eats those bugs. Combined with the loss of habitat, that has been bad news for nightjars. Between 1972 and 1992 alone, the population fell by 51%, and breeding pairs remain rare in the north of the UK, although there is some evidence of increasing numbers.
That made this opportunity even more important for Doolittle and her organization, as they were able to care for and feed the bird until it had recovered enough to be released.
"It's very rewarding getting to release something back into the wild and knowing you've given it that second chance," Doolittle said, calling it a "once in a lifetime experience."
Other exciting rare bird sightings have also been reported in China and elsewhere around the globe, lending a hopeful note at a time when many species are facing significant challenges.
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