Skye Corncrakes 2011

25th September 2011

As with the 2010 Skye corncrake survey, this year’s survey benefited greatly from reports we received through Skye Birds. We know that corncrakes prefer to breed on land which is actively crofted but having information on how long they stay in a particular area, and having some idea of their calling patterns can tell us quite a lot about suitable habitat on Skye and possible breeding attempts. Between late April and August we received records of calling males from 40 different locations on Skye and 1 from Lochalsh. However,due to wet and windy weather conditions at the end of May, only 23 different calling locations were counted during the official survey. The maximum number of calling males counted on a single night was 16.

I’d like to thank all contributors for their invaluable help.

Shelagh Parlane, RSPB Isle of Skye

THE BOOK

"A glorious little gem"

AMAZON

"A book such as this has to look backwards and the author does so succinctly, looking at the work of several of the pioneering naturalists before picking out the publications of JA Harvie-Brown and the Rev. Hugh Macpherson. I know this book fills a real gap in the information available for the Isle of Skye and it will surely sell well at local bookshops."

Andrew Currie Miscellany West Highland Free Press

"A total of 238 species have been recorded, with 14 of those 'red listed' as of high conservation concern ... another innovation has been the inclusion of Gaelic names for some birds. While this is not uncommon in a few other books, the addition of some regional Gaelic names is very unusual and very welcome."

Ray Collier Country Diary 'Up in the Skye' The Guardian

"Illustrated with beautiful photographs of current birdlife on the island, the publication also features sketches by Jean Thomas of The Little Gallery, Portnalong, stimulating the reader's interest further and allowing them to identify species they encounter on Skye."

The Hebridean