Corncrake Hopes
I have spent the last 49 years visiting Islay and filming its Corncrakes. During that time the number of calling male Corncrakes has fluctuated from less than ten to more than one hundred.On Islay the Whisky industry rules and to facilitate its growth many flower-rich pastures have been turned over to growing Barley, which is next to useless for Corncrakes. Islays biggest customer for Whisky is the USA which may well soon see a 25% import tax placed on its import. If this comes to be then the two new distilleries, already approved on Islay, will in all probability be held in abeyance and maybe some of those Barley fields may revert back to flower-rich pastures as shown in this weeks photo. So all is not lost for Islays rapidly declining Corncrake population! www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife
Published by
Gordon Yates
Updated on
February 26, 2025
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Gordon Yates - Wildlife Photographer
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Alongside filmmaking, Gordon has earned recognition in still photography competitions with the BBC, RSPB, Scottish Wildlife, and the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club — using his trusted Pentax equipment. One of his proudest achievements was seeing ten minutes of his work broadcast by Granada Television — a milestone in a lifetime dedicated to wildlife storytelling. Today, he continues capturing the natural world with his Canon EOS 7D and Canon XM2 digital camcorder.