Ireland will continue successful Corncrake LIFE actions through a new €4.35 million programme led by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Ireland has announced a new €4.35 million programme to protect corncrakes and support wider farmland bird recovery. The programme continues conservation actions developed through the Corncrake LIFE Project and will be led by the National Parks and Wildlife Service together with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The corncrake is a bird of meadows, hayfields and rough grassland, known more often by its rasping call than by sight. Its decline has been tied to changes in farming practice, earlier mowing dates and the loss of the kind of late-cut, wildlife-rich fields where chicks can survive.
The new programme is important because corncrake conservation depends on repeated cooperation with farmers and local communities. The birds need a seasonal network of suitable cover, safer mowing and enough food-rich habitat during the breeding period.
The programme will also include actions that benefit other farmland birds. When meadows, field margins and late-cut areas are managed carefully, several birds, insects and plants can gain at the same time.
Source: Government of Ireland