By: Sarah Zhong
The call of the corncrake-a small bird related to the coot-is loud and harsh, but it once was the sound of summer in Ireland, bringing wistful memories of warm weather.
Presently, its call is rarely heard in places like Belmullet, a small town. Once there were numerous corncrake birds, they were threatened in most of their Western European lands, mainly because of the changes in agricultural techniques that left them no place to breed.
“Older people still talk about coming home from dances on summer nights and hearing the corncrakes calling from the fields all around them. You hear about them making special trips to places in the west where they are going to hear the corncrake again. It’s sad that many young people have never heard it,” said Anita Donaghy, the assistant head of conservation at Birdwatch Ireland.
However, there is still hope for the return of the corncrake’s call. Conservationists, government agencies, and farmers have come together to try to increase their population.
The efforts to rescue the corncrake bird in Ireland began in the 1990s. They started by banning the early mowing of meadows where corncrakes breed. The farmers in Ireland criticized the rule because they wanted to use the grass for animal feed.
A new program, Corncrake Life, takes into consideration the farmers and animals. They are working to recreate the rough meadows where nut-brown birds, with their round bodies and lengthy necks, mate and raise their offspring.
“I remember in the 1970s, this area was full of corncrakes. Then farmers started mowing grass earlier, and that ruined it until the last corncrake in this area was right here, on this land. The corncrake was nearly wiped out here. And if he is, we’ll never get him back again,” said Patrick Mangan, a farmer and corncrake enthusiast.
“It’s part of history. It’s in their memory. The good old days, when they were young,” Sean McKeown, the director of a wildlife park, said about the farmers.
The farmers and conservationists have come together for the corncrake birds. With them working together, we can expect to hear the “kek kek” call of the corncrakes in the future, bringing new memories of summer.