IMPORTANT corncrake habitats may be bought by the Office of Public Works under a Government scheme aimed at conserving the bird.
Under the scheme, corncrake habitats which are owned by farmers who do not use corncrake friendly practices may be purchased by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. They can then be leased to farmers willing to farm the land in a corncrake friendly fashion.
Corncrake friendly farming involves cutting hay and silage after breeding corncrakes have hatched their chicks. Other such measures include mowing meadows from the centre outwards. This gives brooding birds time to lead their young out of meadows during harvesting.
The Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Mr Higgins, yesterday announced the introduction of the purchase lease scheme by allocating £60,000 for buying suitable lands. It is understood the scheme will be jointly funded on a 10-10 bases from the Exchequer and the EU Life Fund.
As part of the new conservation programme, staff from the National Parks and Wildlife Service will hold public meetings in areas where corncrakes exist. Farmers in the Shannon Callows, north Donegal, and the Moy Valley will also be visited by wildlife rangers to explain the details of the scheme.
The Corncrake Grants Scheme, now running for a number of years, is also being continued and £64,000 has been allocated to fund this project. Under this scheme, farmers are paid to harvest meadows after corncrakes have hatched their chicks.
A spokesman for the Irish Wildlife Federation welcomed the new scheme, saying the purchase of remaining corncrake habitats by the State would go a long way towards the survival of the bird in Ireland. A spokeswoman for the Irish Wildbird Conservancy also welcomed the scheme.