Corncrakes ready for comeback

The corncrake is a close relative of the moorhen and the coot
Andrew Hay, RSPB Images

Conservationists are releasing the last of 55 captive-bred corncrake chicks on Friday in an attempt to reintroduce the endangered species in England.

The bird, a relative of the coot and moorhen, has been virtually wiped out by modern farming methods in England.

The corncrake chicks, bred at Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, are being released at the RSPB's Nene Washes reserve, near Peterborough.

Project leaders hope the birds will head south to spend the winter in Africa and return to breed in spring.

Scottish refuge

Corncrakes have bred in England only sporadically since the 1950s, though they survive in the north and west of Scotland.

Fifty-five corncrakes have been released this year
Andrew Hay, RSPB Images

The reintroduction is being carried out by the RSPB, English Nature and the Zoological Society of London.

Peter Newbery, a species policy officer with the RSPB, said: "Although the corncrake is continuing to slowly increase its numbers in Scotland, thanks to intense and sustained conservation effort, we realised the bird needed help to recolonise England.

"Hopefully, the call of the corncrake will once more be a feature of at least one small part of the English countryside."

Five-year programme

Phil Grice, senior ornithologist with English Nature, said that the release represented a turning point for a globally-threatened bird.

"Historically, the call of the corncrake was a familiar sound across Britain and Ireland.

"Sadly, as in the rest of Europe, the needs of this bird are incompatible with modern farming and so its numbers have crashed, requiring intensive conservation efforts everywhere it breeds," he said.

The RSPB, English Nature and the ZSL hope to release up to 100 birds a year for the next five years if this year's release proves successful.