THE island of Ireland's very first 'Kestrel Cam' has been installed in one of Mannok’s Quarries, and will be live-streamed online in coming months.

The footage can be viewed on Mannok’s website, and will give viewers an exclusive look inside an Irish Kestrel nest throughout the breeding season.

The livestream was been launched on World Earth Day, Thursday, April 22 to highlight the need to protect our local wildlife and wider ecosystems, particularly with the common Kestrel having recently been placed on the Red List as a species now at risk of extinction in Ireland.

Two discreet cameras have been installed in the nesting location under license from NPWS, and in partnership with Netwatch, to enable Queen’s University to study the birds and to raise awareness of the need to protect the species and other wildlife across the island.

Queen’s PhD student, Kez Armstrong, will study the nesting pair of Kestrels, who have returned to the same nesting site over the past few years to successfully breed.

Speaking of the Kestrel Cam project, Mannok's Chief Executive Officer, Liam McCaffrey, said: “This initiative is part of our drive to protect and enhance biodiversity on our land and across our local region as an important element of our wider sustainability commitment, and we’re very pleased to be in a position to help highlight the need to protect our native wildlife and the recently Red-listed Kestrels in particular.

"This is an opportunity to highlight the risk to wildlife such as these Kestrels and to bring that into focus for a wider audience.

"We will be working closely with educational institutions and wildlife and biodiversity groups, as well as engaging the wider public through the Kestrel Cam stream and a Kestrel Blog from Kez [Armstrong] to play our part in helping to raise awareness and understanding."

Liam said that it is fitting that the live stream from within the nest was launched on World Earth Day, which "helps focus all our minds on the bigger picture and what we can all do to help ensure a more sustainable future for our planet".

He added: "As a large manufacturer and employer in our region, we have a very important role to play in this sustainability drive and it’s a responsibility we take incredibly seriously.”

Live feed from the nest will be broadcast on the Mannok website for the duration of the project, together with Kez's Kestrel Blog to keep people informed of progress and allow people to follow the story of the nesting pair of birds.