Declining corncrake numbers have been stalled thanks to forward-thinking farmers

My most recent encounter with a corncrake was a typically frustrating experience with the bird being so very near, yet impossible to see.

We were on a small island close to the Isle of Jura and the monotonous rasping call emanating from a large patch of irises left little doubt as to the bird’s identity, yet the echoing nature of the location made it impossible to pinpoint exactly where it was.

After much waiting a brown bird suddenly hopped out onto a patch of short-cropped grass in front of us, accompanied by excited shrieks of “there it is” from my companions. However, it turned out to be a song thrush and the corncrake kept rasping away from its hideout, the tone almost mocking in manner.

While it was disappointing not to catch a glimpse of this corncrake, we did at least feel privileged to hear its call, for it is now an uncommon bird mainly confined to the Outer and Inner Hebrides, Orkney and parts of Sutherland. At one time they were widely spread, but throughout the 20th century numbers declined catastrophically, disappearing from England altogether and also from most of their Scottish mainland range.

There was much uncertainty among naturalists about the reasons for such a startling decline, which provided the spur for the RSPB in the 1980s to investigate the key requirements for corncrakes to thrive. According to Dr Paul Walton of RSPB Scotland, the research showed that while the corncrake is a quite tolerant species that eats a wide variety of invertebrates including insects, molluscs and earthworms, the one crucial factor that the bird does absolutely depend upon is cover for concealment.

“It was found that corncrakes hate being exposed and like to be in tall vegetation about 30cm high, which they can also easily move through,” he says.

It would appear that the removal of such cover so cherished by corncrakes was the underlining factor behind the decline. Agricultural intensification and changes in farming practices were leading to the earlier seasonal cutting of hay meadows during the crucial breeding period, with corncrakes being further hit by the tendency to mow meadows from the outside in, resulting in chicks being herded into the centre of a field before meeting a gruesome fate under mower blades.

Such findings led to the creation in the early 1990s of the Corncrake Initiative – a scheme to develop corncrake-friendly farming techniques that would fuel population recovery while at the same time not impact upon the earnings of crofters and farmers.

In an initiative administered and supported by the RSPB, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Crofting Foundation and others, crofters and farmers were encouraged to delay mowing, and also at harvesting time to mow from the centre of a field and then outwards. The scheme delivers direct payment to farmers and crofters in return for managing their land in a way that benefits the corncrakes. This support for farmers and crofters in corncrake areas was subsequently boosted by dedicated Scottish Government agri-environment schemes.

The results have been astonishing and since the start of the initiative the number of calling males has trebled from just over 400 birds in the early 1990s to around 1,200 today, a recovery that could not have been achieved without the support of crofting communities, who are tremendously proud of their corncrakes.

However, it is a case of so far, so good, because this recovery is only occurring in areas that the bird already frequents. Numbers may have increased but the range of the corncrake has not because it is a short-lived and site-faithful bird that is not adept at recolonising new areas. A reintroduction scheme is currently being trialled in England, and if successful may also be rolled out into Scotland in a bid to increase its range and ensure some of its former mainland haunts are occupied once more.

Hopefully at some stage in the future the call of the corncrake will become a more familiar sound to all. But what is the best way of seeing this elusive bird? Paul Walton says: “On our Isle of Coll reserve we have built a viewing platform where it is sometimes possible to see them, but in most cases it is all down to luck, and probably the best chance of seeing corncrakes is when they run across a road from one patch of cover to another.”