South Kurzeme.

Section 87. Lithuanian– Latvian border – Gramzda.

As you walk through open landscapes, you can hear the voice of the corncrake (Crex crex). Corncrakes in Latvia are relatively more common than in other European countries – about 40,000 pairs of corncrakes nest here. At the end of May and the beginning of June in the meadows (mostly at dusk and at night, but also during the day) you can hear the loud song of a male corncrake – the two-syllable cry “krrrep-krrrep” – who protects its territory from other males. It is very difficult to see the corncrake in nature, so there is a false tale that the corncrake migrates to warmer climates by running on foot. Today, the threat for the corncrake is overgrowing of meadows, land reclamation and intensive farming. The corncrake is depicted on a 10 lats silver jubilee coin.