Corncrake  (Crex crex)

The decline in the UK was first noticed in the south and east of England during the late 19th century; it continued into the 20th century and became more severe. After the 1930s corncrakes were lost from most of England, southern Wales and from large areas of Scotland. They are currently fairly common only in the northern and western islands of Scotland. This decline coincided with the increased use of farm machinery to cut hay meadows. Meadows were also cut earlier, which caused massive losses of adults, juveniles and nests. Other causes of the decline include loss of habitat due to conversion of grassland to arable and sheep pasture, or unsuitable management such as over-grazing. Disturbance and predation by domestic and feral cats and mink may also cause significant losses (3). Between 1978 and 1979 there were just 730 to 750 calling males in the UK; by 1993 this had fallen to 478, but by 2001 there were around 630 (2).

The latest corncrake survey in 1998 estimated that there were 589 calling males in the UK. This indicates that the population is beginning to increase in response to conservation measures. These measures include agri-environment schemes that pay farmers to manage their fields in ways that benefit the corncrake, such as cutting the meadows later to prevent losses, and maintaining crop rotation systems that create a mosaic of habitat types. It has been suggested that cutting should proceed from the centre of a field outwards as this minimises losses; in addition, leaving uncut patches at the field margins provides shelter for juveniles during the harvest.

Over ten percent of the British corncrake population is located within RSPB managed land, and ten of these sites have been managed specifically for the species. In addition, nine corncrake Special Protection Areas (SPAs) were established in 1998 (3). The corncrake is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) species; the Species Action Plan aims to maintain the population, increase its range and in the long-term, restore the species to parts of its former UK range (5).