OUTDOORS: Heard the corncrake calling?

Heard the corncrake calling?


Ciara Moynihan

The loud ‘kerrx-kerrx’ sound of the male corncrake has been likened to the sound of two cheese-graters rubbed together, producing a sound so monotonous that the bird has been dubbed ‘the world’s worst singer’. Despite its croakiness, however, the call has been a welcome sign of summer for countless generations, as the cornkrake only ‘sings’ during the mating season, which runs from May to early August.
Sadly, the chances of hearing this gravelly sound are growing rarer and rarer, as the bird is on the brink of global extinction. Once widespread throughout Ireland, numbers dwindled from tens of thousands in the early 1900s to just 129 by 1994.
These shy, secretive birds of hay meadows are now only found in small numbers in the Shannon Callows, north Donegal and western parts of Connacht. Their decline is largely due to intensive farming practices, including early mowing for silage and mechanised hay-making, which have destroyed nests and driven the birds from their old habitats. They are now confined to areas where difficult terrain makes the use of machinery impossible or where traditional late hay-making still takes place.
I was lucky enough to hear the corncrake on Inishbofin in late May last year. I knew it was endangered, and was really excited to hear it, but I didn’t realise that I could have made a difference by calling Bird Watch Ireland and being part of its National Corncrake Count.
If you hear the elusive call this year, don’t make the same mistake. Let Bird Watch Ireland know. The hotline number for the west this year is 095 44941. The National Corncrake Count runs from May 20 to July 10.