Corncrake-Aird

About

The Corncrake is a poor flyer if flushed. It is dumpy, with dangling legs and a rusty brown and grey colour. Males sing a repetative "crex, crex, crex..." carrying on often for several minutes at a burst. It echos and carries for up to a kilometre on calm summer nights and sounds like someone running a credit card over a comb.

Take the road to Aird, just south of Balivanich and listen for birds calling from the fields and nettle beds around the crofts. Use your vehicle as a mobile hide. Drive slowly until you hear one calling then pull over safely not blocking other tracking. Search on the edge of iris beds or thick vegetation and be patient; birds often show eventually.