Where can I hear a corncrake call?
Answer:
AH-YES the imfamous CORNCRAKE first they are found from western europe to northwest lake baikal. secondly the migration is a long distance migration. thirdly they winter in tropical and south east africa. next they depart from breeding sites from august and arrive ineurope in the middle of april, may. corncrakes like open areas, extensively used medows. they eat insects and other invertebrates, also vegetable food and seeds.
Corncrake Fact Sheet
Common Name Corncrake
Latin Name Crex Crex
Irish Name Traonach
Size 25-27 cm
Category Lowland Farmland Bird
Breeding Season Late May to early August
Breeding Status in Ireland Scarce Globally Threatened
Endangered EU Annex 1 Species Yes
BoCCI Status High Conservation Concern in Ireland - Red Listed
Description
A shy, secretive bird of hay meadows. The distinctive kerrx-kerrx call often being the only indication of their presence. Adults show a brown, streaked crown with blue-grey cheeks and chestnut eye-stripe. Breast buffish grey with chestnut smudges on breast sides. Flanks show chestnut, white and thick black barring, fading on undertail.Wings bright cheastnut, striking in flight.
Short bill and yellow-brown legs. Prefers to run through thick cover, dropping quickly back into cover when flushed. Flight is weak and floppy. Large bright cheastnut patches on wings and trailing legs are distinctive in flight.
Habitat
Well hidden in tall vegetation in rough pastures, meadows, flooded meadows and crop fields. Nettles, cow parsley and iris patches are used for cover early in the season, before birds move into hay meadows when the grass is tall enough to nest. A grass lined hollow in the ground suffices as a nest,which may be further concealed by nearby grass drawn over the nest site.
Sight and Sounds
Males give a very loud, distinctive kerrx-kerrx call during the breeding, which is repeated during the day in fits and starts, reaches a peak about dusk and continues through the night till dawn. Its onomatopoeic Latin name seems to be derived from this sound.
Diet
Corncrakes eat about four-fifths animal food and one-fifth vegetable matter. The animal part consists mainly of insects but also slugs, snails and earthworms. Plant material is also taken , especially in autunm and includes seeds of grasses and sedges.
Breeding
Breeding is from late May to early August., on the ground in tall vegetation. Most nests are in hay fields. The greenish-grey mottled eggs hatch after seventeen days of incubation. For the first four days after hatching the chicks are fed by their parents. Then they learn rapidly to feed themselves. Flight takes place in a little over thirty days. Females lay two broods, one mid June and the second one in late July, once chicks have fledged from the first brood.
Distribution and Status
Formely an extremely common summer visitor, however corncrakes have suffered drastic population decline this century and threatened with global extinction. Now, only present in small numbers in the Shannon Callows, north Donegal and western parts of Mayo and Connaught.
This decline is due in most part to intensive farming practises including early mowing to make silage and mechanised hay making practises which have destroyed nests and driven corncrakes from old habitats. Now corncrakes are confined to areas where difficult terrain precludes the use of machinery and where traditonal late haymaking takes place.
Interesting Facts
The kerrx-kerrx sound of the corncrake has been compared with two cheese-graters rubbed together, producing a sound monotonous to qualify the bird as the world's worst singer (and hence eurovision song candidate!!). This lack in vocal accomplishment is more than compensated for by their dignified operatic deportment as they stand erect with head held high and beak wide open.
Corncrake is a misnomer - birds rarely nest in cornfields. Favourtie sites are in long grass and amongst tall weeds and damp places.
Most of the corncrakes diet consists of insects harmful to agriculture and weeds seeds. So it is a pity corncrakes cannot exist compatibly with intensive farming methods.
BWI Conservation Work
The corncrake is now a designated scare and globally threatened threatened species. It is defined as an endangered Annex 1 species in the EU Birds Directive and a Red-listed species in the Birds of Conservation Concern in Ireland (BoCCI) List. The Corncrake worringly meets all 3 criteria for BoCCI Red-Listing including Declining breeders (>50% decline in last 25 years) , Historically declining and Global conservation concern.
BWI undertake major annual conservation measures to protect this endangered species.
See the Corncrake Project for details. This project between BWI and RSPB started in the 1990's to halt the serious decline in Cornrcake breeding numbers.
See the Farmland Birds project which assesses the impact of REPS on farmland birds including severe declining lowland birds such as Corncrake, Grey Partridge and now extinct in Ireland Corn Bunting.
How can I Help conserve this species.
* Provide and maintain areas of vegetation (20+ cm) next to hay fields, that birds can easily move through early in the season. For examples corners or strips of nettles or cow parsley. This will provide shelter for the birds when they first arive in April or May when the grass is too short to protect them.
* Grow more hay as opposed to silage and delay cutting until after 1st August.
* Cut fields in a spiral from the centre out towards the edges and cut slowly. This gives the birds a chance to escape to the edges of the fiield without having to leave the cover of tall grass.
* See the Corncrake Project for details on the Corncrake Grant Scheme which includes compensation for employing such farming practises, as part of the REPS scheme.
Is this a joke ? A corncrake is a bird, nearly extinct,
It was seen over corn fields in days of yor, fed on
field mice and other vertibra, it voice was very
harsh , yet cranky, hence the name...since tractors
in insectorsides... we are loseing this bird in
England ..
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