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Corncrake Article by warden Jack Woodley

Thursday, 27th May 2010

Spring is well and truly here and the breeding season is in full swing with birds building nests and laying eggs all over the reserve and in our captive pens and aviaries. Nowhere is this more evident than in our newly refurbished corncrake breeding pens. At dawn and dusk every day males can be heard two or three at a time calling to proclaim ownership of territories and to impress females.

Corncrakes were once prevalent across large areas of the UK but over the last 100 years changes to land management and the intensification of agriculture have vastly reduced available breeding habitat, which has led to the corncrake becoming Britain's most endangered bird.

Pensthorpe is privileged to be involved at the front line of conservation action for these fascinating birds who, despite a highly unconvincing and seemingly reluctant flight, take an annual trip all the way to Africa and back for the winter! As well as pioneering the conservation grade farming concept which supports sympathetic farming practices, Pensthorpe is also a member of the Species Recovery Programme, breeding and hand-rearing youngsters to prepare them for release at the RSPB reserve at the Nene Washes.

May is the time when things start getting exciting with the loud 'crex' of the calling males acting as a call to arms for the rearing staff and a sure sign that eggs will be on the way (females permitting!). Now, in mid-May, we're entering the heart of the corncrake season with our first eggs due to hatch any day. When first born the chicks need feeding every hour from 6am until 10pm every day.

Remarkably, at ten days old they are fully independent despite still being black fluffy balls and in the wild they would begin to make their own way in the world. For our birds this is the point that they will leave our care and be taken down to large pre-release pens where they will spend another month before being released in readiness for the autumn migration to Africa!

Apart from being huge fun, tremendously rewarding and a totally unique experience, there is a genuine reason for us to rear the chicks ourselves! Taking away the eggs once she has laid, will encourage her to lay again much sooner than if she had to spend time rearing all the chicks. This way we can maximise the number of chicks we can release which is very important for such an endangered bird.

Also, despite Pensthorpe having a stunning night sky it is vital that the corncrake chicks don't see it. Corncrakes will migrate back to their place of birth and to do this they imprint on the star map of the area they see first. By hatching the chicks indoors we can ensure that the first night sky they see will be down at the release site where there are extensive areas of prime habitat for them to return to and breed next year!

Since the end of last season the rearing staff at Pensthorpe have met twice with our counterparts at Whipsnade Zoo who have a wealth of experience that we were able to tap into. Hopefully the results of these meetings as well as our own experience and the addition of a new member of staff specifically for the programme will lead to lots of Pensthorpe corncrakes being released into the wild this year.