A new €5.9m project was announced in Donegal today to save the Irish corncrake population.
The EU-funded LIFE project aims to revive the fortunes of the secretive bird and ensure it remains a part of rural landscapes for years to come.
The project team will operate at coastal and island locations in Donegal, Mayo and Galway as well as associated farmland.
Over a five-year period, the aim is to deliver a 20% increase on the 2018 population of Corncrake recorded in Ireland. Corncrakes were once numerous across Ireland but are now confined to Donegal and West Connaught. In 2018, a survey of the number of calling males in Ireland counted 151, with approximately two thirds recorded in Donegal.
Corncrake LIFE will work collaboratively with farmers and landowners to improve the landscape for the highly endangered bird. Measures will include creating and maintaining areas of early and late cover, wildlife friendly mowing of grass, provision of refuge areas during meadow harvesting and incentivising later cutting dates.
Locally-based field officers will provide guidance, direction and support to landowners while community engagement officers will work with stakeholders to establish the corncrake as an asset to the areas it frequents. Knowledge exchange groups and targeted schools programmes will be utilized to highlight the needs of the corncrake and create awareness of its endangerment.
The plan was unveiled at an event in Gort a Choirce in Co. Donegal today, Friday March 25th by Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan TD and Minister of State with responsibility for land use and biodiversity at the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine Pippa Hackett TD.