Onziebust Corncrakes arrive early!

Two male corncrakes arrived on Egilsay around 21st April and have been calling intermitantly ever since. They winter in Africa and usually arrive in Orkney from 10th May onwards, so these birds are very early, possibly taking advantage of the hot weather on their migration further south. Both birds have been using fields on the Onziebust reserve, one of which we planted particularly to attract them (with reed canary grass). Over the last fifteen years there has been lots of habitat creation works for corncrakes here, particularly focusing on planting Irises, nettles and canary grass which grows tall in early Spring, providing ideal cover for the birds before the hay fields take off. It has taken a long time for the birds to find this great habitat, numbers are low in orkney (around 22 males most years) and we are close to the edge of their range. After 3 birds in the late 1990's we had none in the early 2000's and then reached a peak of 4 on the island in 2008, but none last year. So we are crossing our fingers for more to come? Waders are at their peak now, displaying and getting down to nest. Lapwings, curlews, reshanks, oystercatchers and snipe are all very active and in good numbers, the place is alive with their flight displays and songs. It is a great time to visit.

Barry O' Dowd (Warden)