Corncrake Grant Scheme

The Corncrake Grant Scheme (CGS) is a grant available for Farmers/Landowners who have Corncrake calling on or near their land. The scheme is available to all farmers/landowners who have meadow within 250m of a calling male Corncrake, except for participants in the Agri-Environment Option Scheme (AEOS), the Green Low-carbon Agri-environment Scheme (GLAS) and the NPWS Farm Plan Scheme. Landowners receive a grant/payment if they agree to delayed mowing/grazing of meadows, carry out Wildlife Friendly Mowing (WFM) when cutting the meadow and leave an unmown strip of meadow along the side of the plot if required. Please see attached Corncrake Grants Scheme Form for full T&Cs for NPWS CGS Project and payment terms.  In general the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme are summarized as follows:

• The presence of corncrakes must be confirmed by a NPWS Corncrake Fieldworker. An application form must be completed as soon as possible after a visit by the fieldworker. This must be signed by both the applicant and the fieldworker.
• To enter the scheme an application form must be completed by the 1 July and mowing must be delayed one of the agreed dates. The various cutting dates and associated payment rates are outlined in the table below. Any applications after the 1 July will usually involve delaying mowing for not less than six weeks from the date of the application.
• In relation to Corncrake Friendly Mowing, the applicant must notify the fieldworker as early as possible before mowing the relevant area by calling local Corncrake Fieldworker. If no attempt is made to contact the fieldworker in advance of mowing, the grant will not be paid. Wildlife Friendly Mowing involves:
• cutting a small area for turning at either end of the field, mowing down the centre of the field and then continuing to mow from the centre outwards or cutting the field in strips from one side to the other. It is not allowable to cut any rounds around the outside of the field before starting centre-out mowing.
• using a mower with width less than 10'.
• driving the mower at a reasonable speed i.e. ~8 km/hr, to allow the chicks to escape.
• Payments will be made within three months of verification of compliance.
• Any variation in the conditions is only acceptable if it is agreed in writing with National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The male Corncrake calls to attract females, they are usually found in areas such as meadows and grasslands that are potentially ready for mowing or topping as early as April and May. If you hear a Corncrake please contact us on the details below:

For further information or to report a calling Corncrake please use the following contacts:

NPWS Corncrake Project is working in collaboration with Corncrake/Traonach LIFE.  Corncrake LIFE is a new project working with farmers and landowners to improve habitat for Corncrakes in the Special Protection Area Network and surrounding farmland.  Please refer to www.corncrakelife.ie to view project areas, facility to report a corncrake online, review new Results Based Payment Scheme, New Bioacoustic research and na Cairde dTraonach programme.