Videos: Corncrakes Calling

Irish Corncrake numbers at critical levels

The Corn Crake, Corncrake or Landrail (Crex crex) is a bird which breeds across Europe and Asia to western China.It migrates to Africa in winter.
Sadly the corncrake has disappeared from most parts of Ireland with the advent of modern farming practices. It particularly likes to breed in hayfields. It is now confined to the core areas of Donegal, west Connacht and Shannon Callows. According to a Department of the Environment report, the numbers of corncrakes last year increased by five to 133. This was the first rise since 2005 when 162 were recorded.