The corncrake, a bird once widely found across the British countryside, has been brought back to the English fenlands of Norfolk thanks to the efforts of conservationists seeking to secure the species. Habitat loss caused by modern farming methods threatened the corncrake to the brink of extinction, and so since 2021, scientists have bred and released 100 corncrakes each year in a bid to re-establish them in the wild on the flood plains of the River Ouse, home to thousands of different bird species. This has seen the population increase from just three males calling in 2021 to at least nine calling males in 2024, a promising development for the corncrake’s future in England.
The call of the corncrake has been a familiar sound in the British countryside for centuries, often heard at night with its distinctive “crex crex” call. However, modern farming methods and habitat loss caused the bird’s decline across Britain. Today, the corncrake remains on the UK’s red list as a species of most concern, as its population has been threatened in other parts of its range across Europe and Asia.
Although conservationists are optimistic about the progress being made in Norfolk, this is currently the only known corncrake population in England, and the birds released each year face significant challenges ahead when they migrate to Africa in the autumn to breed. Once they establish a sustainable population, however, it is hoped that the corncrake may soon survive naturally without the need to release birds bred in captivity.
Despite its current status on the red list, the growth in the corncrake population in Norfolk is seen as an important symbol of hope for the future of the species. Emilie Fox-Teece of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve at Welney, Norfolk, said that the corncrake’s call was “a lovely noise to hear out in the washes,” and that the sustainable population of corncrakes that are going to be established is “very important.” Similarly, Chrissie Kelly, the head of species management at the Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, another partner in the project, noted that there was “cautious optimism” around the growth in the number of calling males and that it is “a sound we should be hearing in our countryside again.
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