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Water Rail
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Last year I had a bit of a clear-out of some of my collection of bird books including a selection of field guides which I took into work and gave out to anyone who wanted one. Not only did this free up a little bit of space on my shelves but it opened up the possibility of getting a bit more detail on sightings by the recipients of the books. While no-one has yet let me know that they've seen a Bee-Eater sitting on their neighbour's roof, I live in hope. Late last week, I was told about a couple of Water Rails visiting a small pool of unfrozen water and asked if I wanted to see them. Of course I did. Arrangements were made to visit on Saturday morning. Water Rail is a species I've not had many decent sightings of in Dundee, as most encounters have either been very fleeting or more often, heard only. The chance to potentially get some photos of what were seemingly quite showy birds would be an additional bonus.
I headed out before sunrise for the walk to the site where I was hoping the Water Rails would show well. Herring Gull, Robin, Blackbird, Blue Tit and Redwing were noted within a minute or so of leaving the house. Carrion Crow and Wren were next onto the list followed by Magpie, Goldcrest, House Sparrow and Pink Footed Geese. Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Dunnock and Starling were next with Dunnock and Starling being added before I arrived at my destination where the intention was to spend the next few hours hopefully photographing Water Rail. A lone Canada Goose at Clatto found by Lainy had been another option but with no plans for Sunday, I figured I could always try for it then. One of the plusses of the site was that it was free of dog walkers though there were a few houses which overlooked the pool and the occasional barking dog could be heard from time to time. It wasn't a particularly large pool, bordered by some bushes, one or two small-ish trees and even a small stand of reeds behind it, suggesting that it stays wet most of the year. There were clumps of other vegetation dotted around too (of which more later...).
After a short chat, I took up position overlooking the pool. The view was partially obscured from most angles but it didn't take very long before a Water Rail wandered out into the open. A pair of Mallard and a few Black Headed Gulls were seen in flight. There were a few other birds around including Reed Buntings, Blackbirds, Robins and Chaffinch. Things were relatively quiet on the Water Rail front except for sporadic calls from within cover as I waited patiently for more action. Bullfinch, Siskin, Goldfinch and even a Treecreeper put in brief appearances, some overhead, some perching briefly in the branches or even once or twice popping down to the water for a drink. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming from somewhere relatively close by. These sightings helped to pass the time while I waited for the reappearance of the Water Rail.
Around 1000, a Water Rail wandered out again into the open. I grabbed as many photos as I could and then stealthily moved to what I hoped might be a slightly better position while the bird was back in the reeds. Shortly afterwards, it reappeared and this time it was joined by a second bird. Although having both birds in view together didn't last very long, I took a few more photos. The next hour or so saw the Water Rail showing regularly wandering out into the middle of the small pool, picking around for food and then disappearing again for a minute or two. A Moorhen put in an appearance once or twice as well. I had taken the thermal imager with me, in case the Rails weren't going to be co-operative. Scanning around the vegetation I found an intriguing looking heat source tucked in a relatively small area of tangled long grass. It wasn't moving but it appeared to be around the size of a small-ish bird. Unfortunately, there was no way of telling what it was, other than a relatively warm 'blob'.
The opportunity to go for the Canada Goose at Clatto came up, with a return to the pool for the afternoon on the cards if I wanted, so I figured I'd be mad not to give it a go. A Treecreeper and a Yellowhammer were seen in the car park at Clatto. Mistle Thrush, Great Tit and Coal Tit were also noted in the trees. The reservoir was mostly frozen and there was no obvious sign of the Canada Goose. Mute Swan, Common Gulls, Black Headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, a few Goldeneye, a single Goosander, a quartet of Wigeon. more Mallards and a handful of Coots were all seen but disappointingly, there was no sign of the Canada Goose. Song Thrush and a Fieldfare were added further on and then it was back to the pool for round 2....
Arriving back at the pool, I noticed that the heat source seen earlier was no longer where it had been. This was intriguing. It might have been a rodent or it might've been a bird. I scanned around some more. I was distracted briefly by an overflying Lesser Redpoll but soon spotted a moving 'blob' and a non-moving 'blob' roughly opposite where I was standing. The moving one was quite obviously a Blackbird, but the other one seemed to be invisible. I changed position slightly a few times but still couldn't see anything other than vegetation. Perhaps it was some rubbish at a different temperature to the vegetation. I spent more time photographing the Water Rail which was still showing regularly and well.
Eventually, I had another look at the non-moving heat 'blob'. I still couldn't see anything using binoculars or the camera. I realised that it looked like it might just about be possible to see it from a different angle by looking through the lower branches of some bushes more or less behind the spot. I was able to find a few tiny 'windows' between the branches and the fence bordering the pool. Through one of these the 'blob' finally revealed itself to be a bird. Not just any bird - but a
Jack Snipe - more or less out in the open, between some longer vegetation. After fiddling with the camera settings a lot to be able to get focus through the tangle of branches and manouevring once or twice carefully avoiding some branches covered with thorns, I was able to get a few rear view photos of what was a very intricately marked bird.
I wandered back to my original spot to try to see if I could make out the bird, now that I had a better idea what I was looking for. It still was far from obvious though after about 15 minutes it finally seemed to magically appear in the binoculars. The camouflage worked so well, that had it not been for the thermal imager I would never have known the bird was even there. I got a few photos looking straight ahead at the bird once I'd managed to find it with the camera then grabbed a few more from the rear view. I messaged Lainy to let her see an iphone photo of the bird. She had seen a Jack Snipe herself earlier in the week too, but hers had been a little bit further away than mine was.
By around 1415, I had taken rather a lot of photos of the Water Rail and a decent number of the Jack Snipe and the temperature felt like it was starting to fall, so I decided to call it a day and head homewards. There was a bit of spring in my step on the walk home, not quite the bounce of a Jack Snipe perhaps, but a spring nonetheless. I added Grey Wagtail, Long Tailed Tit and finally Jackdaw on the walk back home having managed to see a total of 45 species - though most of these were either around Clatto or on the walk to/from the pool. Although only 1 species was new for my Dundee145 list (in bold), it had been a very good day's birding...
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Reed Bunting
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| Bullfinch |
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Treecreeper |
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| Siskin |
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| Dunnock |
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| Robin |
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Water Rail
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Water Rail
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Water Rail
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Water Rail
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Common Gull
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| Fieldfare |
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Jack Snipe
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Water Rail
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Lesser Redpoll
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Jack Snipe
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Jack Snipe
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Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow,
Jack Snipe, Jackdaw, Lesser Redpoll, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Song Thrush, Starling, Treecreeper, Water Rail, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
