The corn crake (Crex crex) is a bird which inhabits grassland areas with not too thick vegetation, taller than 30 cm. This is also where it nests in shallow recesses in the ground. The corn crake is a migratory bird that comes to nest in the Park area in the spring months.
For years, the employees of the Park’s expert service have been monitoring the corn crake annually in the grasslands in the Park area. They usually listen to singing males, which mark their territory and call females by singing. The aim is to determine the population status and the changes in the numbers of this species, and to identify potential threats.
Corn crake (Crex crex)
The corn crake is directly affected by agriculture. The lack of agricultural activity causes the grasslands inhabited by the corn crake to disappear by succession, that is, they turn into shrub vegetation and, subsequently, into a forest. Intense and untimely agricultural activity, e.g. mowing or cattle grazing in the grasslands inhabited by the corn crake during nesting time, leads to the destruction of nests and the death of a great number of young birds. Agricultural activity needs to be carefully balanced in order to preserve this species.