We’ve been working hard for years on Rathlin Island to create habitat that’s just right for shy, secretive corncrakes. And this spring, we have some good news! Warden Liam McFaul explains all...
‘It’s been two weeks since the call of a corncrake was first reported on the island and when I went down in the evening to check for myself I heard its unmistakable call.
‘Since then, the corncrake has been calling in short bursts at night time, so we’re hopeful that it is keeping itself occupied.
The magic ingredient? Nettles!
‘It’s only the second time in 10 years that a corncrake has started calling on Rathlin Island. We’ve been working for many years to create favourable habitat for corncrakes, cultivating areas to grow the early cover of tall vegetation that they seek following their migration from Africa.
‘Growth on the island can be a bit slower than on the mainland so the nettles which we plant in the winter into spring are ideal, as they’re fast-growing and attract caterpillars and other invertebrates.
‘We encourage the nettles to grow using farm manure and old rotten silage. In other areas of the island we grow plants that are left to seed over winter. What we grow this year will be cover for any corncrakes next year. Over winter the seeds are beneficial for the likes of goldfinches, linnets and twites.
‘The nettle-growing habitat creation first started in Scotland to increase numbers of corncrakes and the successful practice was then introduced here.
(here's a library clip of a corncrake giving its distinctive call)
Nearly gone from Northern Ireland
‘Sadly, within a generation, the corncrake has been virtually wiped out in Northern Ireland, largely due to changes in agricultural practices. The last reported breeding pair in Northern Ireland was in the late 1990s.
‘Islay is only 20 miles away and home to good numbers of corncrakes. They also settle 25 miles west of us on County Donegal’s Inishowen peninsula, which really isn’t a great distance for these birds, considering their African migration.
‘What’s tricky is that corncrakes are ‘site-faithful’, returning to where they have imprinted as home. For us to attract young males to establish new territory on Rathlin Island we have to make sure that the habitat that we create is super-duper, the best of the best. You know the saying, ‘if you build it, they will come.‘
‘If a pair of corncrakes is successful, we would know around the middle of June. A pair would usually go on to have a second brood of chicks in quick succession. It’s a waiting game but so far the signs are there.’