Joy as Irish bird feared gone forever returns to Cork

Return of the corncrake gives hope for other native species

12:58, 04 Aug 2026Updated 13:11, 04 Aug 2026

(Image: Getty)

It’s been decades since anyone has heard the distinctive call of the corncrake in West Cork, but this summer its voice has finally returned, as it’s hoped the species – and others like it – can be rescued from the brink of national extinction.

The corncrake – a small, shy bird that spends most of its time on the ground – was once widespread across Ireland, with 4,000 breeding pairs recorded in the 1970s. However, that thriving population has been devastated due to agriculture, changing land use and increased predation, leaving just over 100 breeding pairs in recent years – a dramatic plunge of 96%.

Clonakilty was one of the places the corncrake vanished from half-a-century ago – but thanks to a new nature reserve, its shrill repeating cry has been heard again for the first time “in perhaps over 50 years.”

Cork South West’s Christopher O’Sullivan TD – also the Minister for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity – personally recorded one of the prodigal birds earlier this summer. He explained: “The corncrake has returned to my home town Clonakilty for the first time in decades. I recorded a singing male at Whites Marsh in Clonakilty back in June.”

He added: “This is a 100 acre site that my department bought over a year ago. The reasons we bought the land are pretty straightforward. We want to create one of the most fully accessible nature reserves in Ireland, but more importantly we want to allow nature to bounce back in this part of West Cork.”

The return of the corncrake is not just good news for bird lovers. The animal is considered an “umbrella species,” meaning that efforts to protect the corncrake also help to safeguard other species and habitats.

As such, the 100 acre site marks a positive step in West Cork. A report by the EU Habitats Directive last year found that a whopping 90% of EU-protected habitats across the country are suffering “unfavourable” conditions.

20% of all species in Ireland are now threatened with national extinction, including the Great Yellow Bumblebee, the curlew and lapwing, as well as marine species like the Atlantic salmon and the European eel. But Minister O’Sullivan is hopeful that the return of the corncrake to Clonakilty could signal a healthy future for the area.

The Minister said: “Corncrakes are a bird that were once widespread throughout West Cork, but for decades now they have been completely absent. Now for the first time in perhaps over 50 years or more we have a singing male in this area. Because it was calling for more than five days in a row, it officially goes down as a breeding attempt.

“The recovery power of nature is extraordinary. It just goes to show, build it and they will come. Who knows what other species we will see return back to this stunning piece of habitat.”

One well-known Cork figure who will be very happy with the news is ornithologist Seán Ronayne, who has been on an inspiring mission to record every bird song in Ireland. Elsewhere in Cork, volunteers are working hard night and day to keep the Rebel County’s animal populations healthy, with the tireless team at Wildlife Rescue Cork currently caring for more than 200 individual animals.

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