The first of the last Irish corncrakes have arrived back again - heard on the banks of the Shannon on April 14th. Only 157 calling male corncrakes were recorded in Ireland last year. These are the last corncrakes left on these islands, making them a rare visitor indeed.
By the beginning of this month the birds that winter in Africa have fanned up along the Shannon callows north of Athlone and south of Banagher.
The so-called callows, which flood in winter and so cannot be farmed extensively, hold more than one-third of the remaining Irish birds.
The other birds find breeding grounds in west Donegal and there are a few remaining breeding sites in west Mayo.
However, only the Shannon river sites have maintained numbers.
This is because the local farmers are paid to farm their lands in a corncrake-sensitive way, to protect the habitat of the bird which is regarded as being under global threat.
Under the corncrake grant scheme, when a calling bird is identified on the land the farmer can enter into a contract to delay mowing their meadows until after August 1st.
This allow the corncrakes time to breed, hatch and rear their chicks until they grow strong enough to survive the long flight back to Africa.
Farmers receive £90 per hectare for farming in this way. They can receive a further £20 per hectare for mowing the meadows from the centre outwards, ensuring that the birds are not harmed during harvesting.
According to BirdWatch Ireland, which co-ordinates the scheme, almost 200 farmers are involved in the scheme along the callows, where there is a lively interest in the survival of the bird among the farming community.
The warm weather last weekend brought people out into the countryside.
BirdWatch Ireland received many calls from people reporting that they had heard Ireland's rarest bird.
However, there is one corncrake black-spot on the Shannon, at the Big Meadow in Athlone. This open stretch of meadowland runs right up to the edge of Athlone on the Connacht side of the river, just south of the bridge.
Due to increasing pressure on building land in Athlone, a number of attempts have been made to get planning permission on the town end of the Big Meadow.
So far these plans have been successfully opposed by conservation groups, who hold that the survival of the corncrake is more important than building development just there.
Fresh applications are pending to develop this prime area near the main navigation lock, where dozens of luxury apartments now stand.
Last Tuesday, the corncrake was having its say, making its distinctive call right up to the buildings that mark the boundary of the town.