A new €5.9 million Corncrake LIFE conservation project funded by the EU includes collaborative work with farmers and landowners to improve the landscape for the endangered bird.
The project was officially launched in Co. Donegal yesterday (Friday, March 25) and aims to deliver a 20% increase in corncrake population ensuring it remains a part of rural landscape in future.
The project is overseen by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; speaking at yesterday’s launch, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan said:
“The call of the corncrake was once a ubiquitous sound in meadows and grasslands across the island of Ireland. However, rapid changes to farming practices in the 1970s spelled doom for the bird.”
Corncrakes are listed for special protection under the EU Birds Directive, with only 188 calling male animals recorded across Ireland in 2021, the department said.
The species requires the cover of tall vegetation (>20cm) and is associated with meadows – which are traditionally harvested in late summer – where they nest and feed.
This means birds must find alternative cover, and farming therefore plays a key role in the establishment, maintenance and conservation of corncrake habitat, the department explained.
Project measures
Measures primarily focusing on habitat creation and restoration will take place in coastal and island locations in Co. Donegal, Mayo and Galway as well as associated farmland over a five-year period.
Creating and maintaining areas of early and late cover, wildlife-friendly mowing of grass, provision of refuge areas during meadow harvesting and incentivising later cutting dates will be part of the project.
Project manager, Dr. John Carey of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) explained:
“The project will be developing knowledge-exchange groups with farmers and advisors to share information on how to create and maintain high-quality corncrake habitats, and ensure that landowners can maximise their potential to receive rewards under the results-based pilot project scheme.”
Locally-based field officers and community engagement officers will support landowners and work with stakeholders to establish the corncrake as an asset to the areas it frequents. Targeted school programmes will also be utilised to highlight the needs of the corncrake and create awareness of its endangerment.
Innovations such as flushing bars fitted to tractors to scare birds away from mowers, thermal imaging drones to find nests, and passive acoustic monitoring using high-tech microphones in an attempt to help locate the birds, will be explored as part of the project.
The Corncrake LIFE conservation project is collaborating with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Údarás na Gaeltachta and Fota Wildlife Park.
Minister of State with responsibility for land use and biodiversity, Pippa Hackett added that the corncrake heavily relies on habitats used for agricultural reasons, which reflects the need for a more cooperative approach to agri-ecology.