Conservationists work with farmers by the river Shannon to try to save the corncrake.
The Shannon Callows are stretches of flat grassland along the shores of the River Shannon north of Lough Derg, which flood in winter but dry out in summer.
These habitats are very special as they contain a wide variety of native flora and fauna and are a stronghold for endangered birds like the corncrake. The fortunes of the corncrake are hindered rather than helped by modern agricultural techniques.
A team of conservations based in Banagher County Offaly are working to save the corncrake, a summer migrant which breeds and raises its young in Ireland before returning to Africa for the winter. The fieldworkers locate corncrakes in the Shannon Callows by the calls of the birds which are recorded on audio tape.
Fieldworker Gillian Gilbert explains how important the Shannon Callows are for the survival of the species, as the corncrakes
Seem to come back to almost exactly the same place they were born.
Fellow worker Ann McFarland says that there has been a high uptake of the Irish Wildbird Conservancy (IWC) Corncrake Grant Scheme,
You call out and they are immediately going to sign up.
Farmers participating in the scheme delay cutting hay or silage until the start of August, and also mow from the centre of the field outwards, allowing the birds to escape to safety.
Flooding on the callows last summer destroyed a large number of corncrake nests, and Catherine Casey says this has adversely impacted numbers of the bird this year,
Much greater a decline than there has been ever here before.
This episode of 'Nationwide’ was broadcast on 12 June 1994. The reporter is Tom Kelly.
