We must rally to defence of the corncrake and hare

THE National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) deserves immense credit for its dedication to conserving the corncrake.

The cost of the project might seem exorbitant at around €400,000 spent last year, but this has to be set against the implications of losing a much-loved bird that is a prized part of our culture and ecosystem.

In times past, the distinctive and then familiar call of the corncrake heralded the arrival of summer. The bird was for generations a welcome dweller in hay meadows nationwide.