You almost never see them but last night the air was alive with the sound of corncrakes calling in a field near Belmullet, Co Mayo.
It was one of a number of locations around the country where small teams of experts and enthusiasts set up camp to record birdsong and chat about the various species for the annual RTÉ 'Mooney Goes Wild Dawn Chorus'.
In Mayo Dr John Carey, Project Manager of the Corncrake/Traonach LIFE project, described it as a privilege to be able to hear the sound of the corncrake and be able to bring it to the ears of many people who may not have heard it for decades.
The corncrake is a species which has declined significantly since the 1950s and 1960s but the project he and his colleagues is involved in aims to improve their habitat conditions to allow the population to grow.
Farmer and field worker with the project in Mayo, Patrick Lally, was part of the team last night and said he is happy to restrict his farming practices where necessary to encourage the preservation of the corncrake.
Liam Loftus, Field Officer with the project and des robes as a "corncrake guru" by Derek Mooney explained that during the 2018 breeding season, 151 calling males were recorded nationally and in 2022 this number increased to 197.
While the creation of improved habitat condition cannot in itself guarantee an increase in population, the project will strive to achieve a 20% increase in calling males across the project sites over the course of the project and has already recorded a 17% increase within the first two years of operation.
For almost three decades now, Mr Mooney and his team of experts have been bringing the uplifting and fascinating strains of early-morning birdsong to listeners.
"Interest in the natural world has never been higher. People have a greater appreciation of our flora and fauna and for the songs of our wild birds," he says.
He described the dawn chorus as one of the most magical experiences in nature, "a multitude of birds of many different species all singing together in harmony as morning breaks and light begins to fill the skies.
"As our natural world's most impressive and renowned concert, it is almost as though it has been tailor-made for radio."
