Corncrakes have increased in Ireland for the second year in succession. The total of singing males this year was 186 (one hundred and eighty six), an increase of almost 7 per cent on 1995.
The majority of these were in North, Donegal, where strong signs of recovery have been seen in recent years. The islands of Tory and Inisbofin have become very important, and now hold 20 per cent of all Irelands corncrakes. The remainder are restricted to the other two core areas the Shannon Callows (54 singing males) and Co Mayo (25 singing males). Outside these areas just two singing males were noted, in Co Roscommon and Co Kerry.
And one on Rathlin. Good.
Does the corncrake matter? It does, for the very simple reason that it is there. It doesn't bring in revenue like the other threatened creature, the white trout, it may not draw tourists, but it does say this to ourselves and to any others that might be interested in spite of the rush of the modern world, of which we are part, we still have some elements of peace, remoteness and care for the smaller things of life.
And people who care for them passionately, like the good folk of Birdwatch Ireland, which may be more familiar to you as the Irish Wildbird Conservancy. This is not so much a beautiful bird as a curious bird. Its odd voice, usually heard at night, is never forgotten.
Even when they were relatively plentiful, and heard in every county on the island, people seldom saw one. They kept to the long grass, seldom took wing.
Olly McGilloway, the late, quotes John Clare as writing in 1820 "I have followed it for hours and all to no purpose. It seemed like a spirit that mocked my folly in running after it . . ." Unfortunately, in spite of a Corncrake Grant Scheme, numbers fell again in the Shannon Callows. Now, a rising scale of grants is offered to farmers who mow on August 1st, August 15th and on September 1st. So writes Catherine Casey, the corncrake project officer.
Mowing, even in August, leaves young chicks, especially, vulnerable to predation.
You will read much about this bird in Winds, the quarterly magazine of The Irish Wildbird Conservancy, 8 Longford Place, Monkstown, Co Dublin, phone (91) 2804322. Join them. Give a hand. And yes, what happens to this bird in Africa and on its journey to our country is something over which we can have no control. But while it is here, let us be thankful, and careful for it.