What's an ugly old man like you doing with a cute chick like that?

So there I was, enjoying the fresh Coll air when suddenly I was mugged - verbally mugged, that is, by a noisy Redshank. It was June 8th last year and the bird in question was obviously playing the protective parent to chicks lurking nearby in the undergrowth. Redshanks are easily rattled and this din is nothing unusual when chicks are about.

However, it did trigger a thought in my head. Do female Corncrakes make any sound I wondered, particularly when they have chicks around. We know what a noise the males make and I can imagine it not being everyones favourite bird for that reason alone - hardly very musical. But what about the females? Now here's the spooky bit. That thought was still running through my mind when suddenly I heard a curious noise that I didn't recognise coming from a short distance in front of me, best described as a loud 'tick'.

Initially the source of the noise wasn't obvious but then, from the long grass about 10 feet away, the head of a Corncrake appeared still 'ticking' away. This obvious alarm call didn't seem to be aimed at me although I was evidently the reason for it. Quick as a flash, I reasoned that she was protecting something and that something was most likely to be chicks. I moved forward to investigate and sure enough I spotted first one, then another, and then more hiding in the grass. The females loud 'ticking' was to tell them to keep their heads down to avoid danger. I stood motionless and after about 5 minutes she relaxed and started walking off emitting a soft 'tick' at which point the chicks stood up and followed, cheeping.

The soft 'tick' would seem to be the 'all-clear' signal to the chicks. It transpired that there were 9 chicks in all and one who was straggling behind the rest was too difficult to resist. I picked it up and pointed the camera I was carrying at it as it sat clenched in my hand and then returned it to the rest. I stayed with the family for about 2 hours as they were now in fairly short grass and looking vulnerable. I slowly herded them to the cover of some denser vegetation. The female came to accept me and behaved in a reasonably relaxed manner as I proceeded to rattle off a few photos.

The chicks are totally black which means that detail in the accompanying photograph is not easy to see. One thing that may show up is a tiny white speck on the end of the beak. This is the egg tooth which the chicks use to chip their way out of the egg and stays on the beak for only a couple of days. These chicks therefore, were probably about a day old and after 12 days they will be abandoned by their mother to fend for themselves.

J.L.D.