He said areas of rough vegetation around farm buildings, ditches or hedges should be left uncut during the spring and summer to provide somewhere for the corncrakes to nest when they arrive from south-west Africa. This vegetation should be left uncut when saving fodder. Farmers should look out for corncrakes when mowing. If they see any they should slow down or stop to allow the birds to escape. If they remain in the area the birds will sit tight.
Farmers can mow in a corncrake friendly way.
Avoid mowing in a spiral inwards from the outer edge of the field. This traps the chicks in a central island where they are often killed in the final few cuts. Cornrake numbers in Ireland declined in 1997. This was disappointing following two years of increases. One problem in other areas was the shortage of cover for the birds after the hay had been cut late in the season and to a lesser extent, the shortage of cover earlier in the year.