A shy little bird known for its distinctive call is rebuilding its population with the help of the team at a local nature reserve.

The corncrake is a small, rare bird that was previously found across much of the UK but has been lost almost everywhere due to a change in agricultural practices and wetland loss since the mid-20th century.

WWT Welney was asked to host a new release site as part of a reintroduction project in 2021. 

A corncrake chick undergoing a health check before being released into the wildA corncrake chick undergoing a health check before being released into the wild (Image: WWT - Billy Heaney)

Since then, the team has released 300 corncrakes into the wild - and studies show more are surviving as time goes on.

In 2021, only three male corncrakes were recorded calling at WWT Welney but in 2024 this shot up to at least nine. 

A similar number of female birds is also likely to be present.

This means around 18 birds have successfully left Welney, migrated to sub-Saharan Africa and returned to the same site they were released from.

READ MORE: Northern Lights spotted across Norfolk for second night

A population of 30 to 50 pairs would be likely to sustain itself.

Emilie Fox-Teece, conservation breeding and monitoring officer, said: “Having gone more or less extinct from England in the 1960s it’s amazing to hear corncrakes back on the Ouse Washes where they belong. 

“Corncrakes rely on wet grassland to breed and raise their young and this project is the perfect example of how using head starting and habitat management together can restore lost wonders to our wetlands.”