Corncrake recovery in Scotland demonstrates how targeted agri-environment payments that align farming calendars with wildlife needs can deliver dramatic welfare improvements at landscape scale.
The corncrake recovery story demonstrates the power of agri-environment payments to transform wildlife welfare at landscape scale. Early silage cutting before July destroys nesting attempts and kills adults and chicks unable to escape machinery. Late cutting schemes that compensate farmers for delayed harvest have directly saved the lives of thousands of corncrakes annually. The welfare of individual corncrakes — not just population statistics — improves when machinery-caused mortality is reduced and nesting cover is maintained through the critical chick-rearing period.