Did Lawrence hear rare sound of the corncrake?

For 38-year-old Lawrence Neill (right) says he understands there may be a corncrake close to his glass-decorating workshop at Fivey Road, Stranocum.

And Lawrence was so taken by the sound that he even recorded it on his mobile phone.

Corncrakes are very rare in Northern Ireland nowadays but in times gone by they were a more distinctive sound.

Because of that Lawrence has been letting older residents hear the sound on his mobile phone and it is believed the sound may indeed be that of the corncrake.

If a corncrake has been located at Fivey Road bird lovers will be very interested.

We spoke to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) about the potential presence of a corncrake in Stranocum and they said a corncrake specialist was due to speak to Lawrence today (Tuesday).

But the RSPB press officer Stephanie Sim spoke to him yesterday (Monday) and afterwards she told the Times if a corncrake is confirmed it will be "fantastic news".

Lawrence told the Times: "There was a clear sky in recent weeks and I think that helped me hear the sound. I never heard it before but I was able to record it on my mobile phone and I have been letting people hear it and I believe it is a corncrake.

"It sounded like a piece of tin being scraped. During the day you would barely hear it but you could hear it more around, and after, dusk. There is mossy land and a wee wood near here and I believe the corncrake is related to the moor hen family so that would all fit in with it being a corncrake," said Lawrence.

Stephanie Sim of the RSPB said: "From what Lawrence told me it all seems very authentic. We had one pair confirmed in north Antrim in 2008 and they are very rare. If this turns out to be a corncrake it will be fantastic news."

The corncrake is a rare migratory bird that has experienced a dramatic recovery in its fortunes thanks to dedicated conservation work. It has been the subject of a UK survey to see if it is now spreading from its core areas in the west of Scotland.

Donegal also has a number of the birds.

The public can call a special hotline numbers to submit their records of the species to the National Corncrake Survey.

Once common and widely distributed across the whole of the UK, the species underwent extremely steep declines in the 19th and 20th centuries due to changes in traditional farming practices and agricultural intensification.

The corncrake - a relative of the more widespread coot and moorhen - is a long-distance migrant wintering in sub-Saharan Africa and returning to the UK and Ireland in summer to breed.

When nesting, the birds favour areas of tall grasses and herbs, particularly hay and silage meadows. However, in the late 19th century when mechanised mowing allowed hay making to be completed more rapidly, the corncrake population plummeted and became restricted in the UK to the Hebridean islands on the west coast of Scotland.

More recently, through the combined efforts of farmers and conservationists, the UK corncrake population has seen an encouraging overall population increase in its Scottish strongholds, especially since the launch in 1993 of the RSPB's corncrake recovery programme.

In 1993, the British population was estimated at just 480 calling males. But by the last survey in 2003 this figure had almost doubled to 832 calling males.

Annual counts have shown the population continued to increase until 2007, when the population in the Scottish strongholds hit a recent high of more than 1270 calling males. However, in 2008 this number had declined by eight per cent to 1140 in the Scottish core areas, highlighting there should be no complacency surrounding the recovery of this bird.

The National Corncrake Survey hopes to establish whether the recovery of corncrake in Britain continues and to establish whether the slight decline of 2008 was a temporary 'blip', or if it was part of a more sustained pattern.

However, corncrakes are a very difficult species to survey, because they are shy, skulk in long vegetation and are very difficult to see. The best method to identify corncrakes is by listening for the distinctive crek crek call given by singing males, which sounds like a credit card being drawn across a plastic comb.

The birds are particularly vocal throughout June, especially during the night. Because of the difficulty of surveying corncrakes, the RSPB is asking anyone who hears the distinctive call of the birds to report it so that it can be verified and recorded as part of the survey.

The Corncrake Survey is a combined initiative between Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the RSPB.

Anyone who hears a corncrake calling is urged to call: RSPB (Northern Ireland) - 02890491547.