The Corncrake population has increased by 35 per cent in the past five years, particularly in breeding areas on the Atlantic seaboard.

The numbers of Corncrakes recorded in the core breeding areas of Donegal, Mayo and Galway has increased by 15% since 2022, according to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

The figures were given at a  Corncrake workshop running in north Mayo this week, involving a range of conservation experts as well as local farmers and coastal residents, and participants in the Corncrake LIFE project from across Ireland. 

Responding to the project’s success to date, Minister for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan  said “it’s fantastic to see that action for the iconic Corncrake is working”.

“The increase from 161 to 218 birds in just five years is remarkable and a testament to the hard work and commitment of so many,” he said.

 This demonstrates that the collaborative approach being championed by the Corncrake LIFE team and the NPWS Corncrake Conservation Programme is not only effective, but welcomed.” 

As part of the two-day event, Noonan officially revealed a mural in Eachléim in north Mayo, which features the Corncrake, and the extinct corn bunting as well.

 St Brendan and his oceanic voyage also features on the gables of Teach Mháirtín. The mural, which was co-funded by NPWS and Údarás na Gaeltachta, is close to the newly launched Solas centre and has already become a local landmark.

“I’m heartened to see local communities celebrate their natural heritage like this, and while we lament the loss of the corn bunting from Ireland, we should learn our lesson and ensure that other vulnerable species like the Corncrake are here for generations to come,” Noonan said.

Dr John Carey who manages the Corncrake LIFE project and oversees the NPWS Corncrake Programme, also paid tribute to all involved in Atlantic seaboard communities.

Coastal and island locations in and off Donegal, Mayo and Galway will be involved in the Government’s new €5.9m EU-funded LIFE project aimed at saving the corncrake.

The project, which is overseen by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, was launched in Gort a Choirce in Co Donegal on Friday (25 March) by two junior ministers.

Malcolm Noonan, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, and Pippa Hackett, Minister of State with responsibility for land use and biodiversity at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, say the initiative aims to revive the fortunes of the corncrake and ensure it remains a part of rural landscapes for years to come.

The Corncrake LIFE team will work over a five-year period with farmers and landowners to “improve the landscape for the highly endangered bird”, they say.

The corncrake is listed for special protection under Annex 1 of the EU Birds Directive, and has declined by 85% since the 1970s.

It is now effectively “confined” to Connacht and Donegal, including islands, and only 188 calling male corncrakes were recorded across Ireland in 2021.

Measures in the new project will include “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”, they say, and they aim to have secured a 20% increase on the 2018 population of the corncrake recorded in Ireland by 2027.

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 highly elusive birds will be explored.

Locally based field officers will provide guidance, direction and support to landowners, while community engagement officers will work with stakeholders to establish the corncrake as an asset to the areas it frequents, the two junior ministers state.

Corncrakes require managed habitat throughout the breeding season. The birds require the cover of tall vegetation (>20cm) and are strongly associated with meadows which are traditionally harvested once a year in late summer, where they nest and feed.

Annual cutting creates a sward with an open structure, which is easy for the birds to move through, but harvesting means they must find alternative cover adjacent to meadows later in the season, the Department of Housing says.

“Farming therefore plays a key role in the establishment, maintenance and conservation of corncrake habitat,” it adds.

The project is collaborating with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Údarás na Gaeltachta and Fota Wildlife Park.