Corncrakes on Skye 2024

Corncrakes

08th May 2024

Our Corncrakes were off the mark sharp this year with our first bird heard on the 17th of April – to my knowledge the earliest in my 15 years as Corncrake Project Officer here on the island. And also the first year I heard a Corncrake before hearing a cuckoo –not that it is a race!

Please let us know if you hear or see a Corncrake – either contact Skye Birds or a message/text/phone to the number below is ideal, noting the date, time and location that you heard it.

For the past few years we have tracked some of our Corncrakes through the summer using the unique pulse patterns of their ‘crex crex’ call. If you can take a short voice memo or video on your phone that would be very helpful – please get in touch if you would like more information and visit http://www.robertarnold.co.uk/crex/crex.htm

These birds are extremely rare and they, their nests and eggs are protected under UK law so it is important that we don’t disturb or approach them. Best way is to keep out of the meadows andstay on the roads. Good luck!

We look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks and have a great summer!

Shelagh Parlane

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