Conservationists trying to reintroduce the corncrake to Yorkshire say they’re “very hopeful” the rare bird could once again flourish in the county.
Over the summer, a number of captivity-reared corncrakes have been released into the wild as part of the effort to re-establish the population.
Craig Ralston, senior reserve manager for Natural England’s Lower Derwent Valley National Nature Reserve, said he was “excited” about the possible return of the bird.
Corncrakes were once plentiful in the UK but numbers declined sharply over the last century as farming methods changed and habitats were lost.
“The hope is that they’ll establish a breeding population in Yorkshire. We need about 50 birds to call this nature reserve home in order to make the corncrake sustainable longer term,” Ralston said.
Only about 1,100 calling males remain in Scotland according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which describes the species as “very secretive”.
