Corncrake found in Manchester car park

Corncrake found in Manchester. Credit Pensthorpe Nature Reserve.

Lost corncrake finds safe haven at Pensthorpe Nature Reserve

October 2008. A corncrake found wandering around a restaurant car park in Manchester in September, has been given a safe haven at Pensthorpe Nature Reserve near Fakenham. The corncrake is the only globally threatened bird to breed in the UK.

Dave Cottingham a Manchester RSPCA Animal Collection Officer (ACO) rescued the disorientated little bird, which should have been migrating from Scotland to Africa. He took it to Three Owls Bird Sanctuary near Rochdale. The corncrake was suffering from concussion and was battered and bruised from the in-flight experiences that led to the forced landing in Manchester. Three Owls trustee Nigel Fowler was aware of Pensthorpe's corncrake breeding programme and made the trip to Norfolk with the bird: "I was pleased to be able to take the corncrake to a place of safety where there are people with the expertise to look after this species." The corncrake is currently in quarantine at Pensthorpe, recovering from its ordeal.

Captive breeding
Tim Nevard, one of the Trustees of the Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, said: "Corncrakes set out on their long and perilous migration to Africa in late summer and if they miss their ‘take-off slot', they would not normally survive. Luckily this one has found a safe haven in our captive-breeding programme and will be nurtured by our highly experienced staff".

Corncrake Reintroduction Programme
There has been a group of corncrakes at Pensthorpe for some years, as a key captive breeding conservation project. But since 2006, the Pensthorpe Conservation Trust (PCT) has bred corncrake chicks for the Nene Washes corncrake reintroduction programme. The programme is a partnership between PCT, RSPB, English Nature and Royal Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

The corncrake first began declining in the English countryside more than a century ago. This secretive bird prefers to nest in hay meadows and other grasslands, especially those that have dense vegetation. But the introduction of intensive farming methods, particularly the mechanisation of hay cutting led to the destruction of many nests. Later, other changes in farming methods, such as the switch from hay to silage production, effectively ensured the bird's extinction in southern Britain. Their major stronghold in the UK is now the Hebrides, where traditional farming practices have endured.

More about Pensthorpe Nature Reserve