Cattle have returned to the island of Inis Bó Finne for the first time in over 25 years as part of conservation efforts.

The cattle have been brought back to the island for conservation grazing to improve the habitat for the corncrake.

The cattle are part of a new habitat restoration action, which uses livestock to graze areas of unmanaged grassland to improve conditions for the bird, one of Ireland's rarest.

The initiative has come about through the work of the Corncrake LIFE Project, with the support of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and a local farmer.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage said that Inis Bó finne is one of Ireland’s most important Corncrake breeding areas.

The local community has been working with Corncrake LIFE for several years to "restore the landscape and improve biodiversity" by supporting the local landowners to manage land in a traditional way, the department said.

Cattle have not grazed on the island in decades and a combination of GPS collars and temporary fencing will be employed to manage them.

The cattle will remain on the island for a period of six to eight weeks until the grassland has been thoroughly grazed, and it is hoped that this will be an annual and more widespread practice in the future.

Previously, work on unmanaged grasslands carried out by the LIFE team have shown that conservation grazing by cattle vastly improves habitat condition for Corncrakes.

The LIFE team will monitor these changes on Inis Bó finne. Careful consideration has gone into selecting the area for the initiative and ensuring that the sensitive ground nesting birds are not subject to any disturbance, the department said.

Commenting on the initiative, Minister of State for nature Christopher O' Sullivan said: "This is another wonderful example of local communities leading and supporting the conservation of wildlife.

"Using cattle to restore these grasslands for a threatened species like the corncrake highlights how local knowledge can help solve challenges to nature restoration," the minister said.

"It also ensures a long-term and sustainable solution to managing land that benefits both farmers and wildlife. We are very grateful to the community on Inis Bó finne for supporting Corncrake LIFE on this initiative," he added.

John Carey, project manager with Corncrake Life, said: "We have been fortunate to have restored quite a bit of habitat for the birds but the arrival of the cattle is a new vista entirely. From an ecological perspective, the cattle grazing will transform the quality of the grassland here for many species; birds, plants, insects and more.

"The local landowners and farmers have been incredibly supportive to this effort. Inis Bó finne is one of the most important places in the country for the Corncrake... The island of the white cow [Inis Bó Finne] has cows again – and we are so thrilled to have helped facilitate this and help honour a lost tradition," Carey added.