I ended my post of January 20th this year by saying “One of these days I’ll get a decent picture of a water rail.“. On October 10th I mentioned water rails again and said “My record with them is pretty sketchy. They are nimble and fast moving and tend to appear only close to dusk or dawn.“
On another visit to the Teifi Marshes at Cardigan early one morning last week all that changed. No sooner had I entered the mallard hide and sat down, than one of the little blighters started squealing from the tiny island just in front of the hide. Soon the bird appeared, quickly followed by another. It seemed as if there was some kind of dispute going on between them. This wasn’t the shy and retiring species of the text books. About nine thirty one emerged from the island’s reeds , walked towards the hide, immersed itself for a short swim, and disappeared again. A few minutes later it re-emerged and swam most of the way towards the reeds to the left-hand side, only to decide that it preferred being on the island after all, and returning. This was brazen!
I took several hundred images altogether, and it has to be said that entire sequences were either out of focus or just generally mushy. I’ve never understood why this happens. But there were enough sharp and well-lit images for me to be able to say ” When it comes to water rails, I think I’ve cracked it.”
Given that the species is renowned for being more often heard than seen, let alone photographed, I can’t imagine there is anywhere better for getting to grips with them than the Teifi Marshes.
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We stopped in at the Teifi Marshes on the way home from the WOS conference on Sunday morning. No water rails to be seen, although we heard at least four. However, I can’t walk along the track without remembering a winter day back in the early 1980s when I saw half a dozen or more of them running around on the mud under the trees. I managed a few photos, but with poor equipment and even worse light (never mind the cheap B&W film) the results were a disaster!!
This time, I came away with scores of little grebe photos instead (wordpress isn’t letting me embed the link https://naturewatchingdiaries.com/2024/11/17/little-grebe/). And as you say there were entire sequences were either out of focus or just generally mushy. I’ve never understood why this happens either, although in this case, low light and a moving bird probably had a lot to do with it.
Sorry to hear you missed on water rails at the Teifi Marshes. They do seem to be more frequently seen during the early part of the morning. I was most envious of your visit to see the little crake! I’d have been thrilled to see it.
Did you enjoy the Conference? I thought it was very successful although I suppose – being a bit of a raptor nut – I may have been biased.
Well done for finally getting those shots Jerry!
Thanks Andrea. Yes, It was quite an achievement, I felt.