We are all familiar with Coot and Moorhen, they can get very bold and approachable at ponds in parks, where they are fed, but there’s a dapper, smaller, much more discrete relative in the Rail family which you may not know … the Water Rail.
The Wildlife team have been monitoring the Reserve over the last few months using the latest acoustic recorders along with recently available AI identification software, and have captured two different calls from these elusive birds … but we haven’t yet seen them! As they move quietly through the reed beds and along the streams, they make one of the strangest calls from any bird, known as the ‘sharming’ call, perhaps a territorial contact call, often likened to the squeals of a piglet!
The second call is a ‘tyick’ call, thought to be a pair bonding call which may suggest these birds will stay to breed at Townend Field … lets hope so. So, as you walk quietly around the reserve, especially along the edge of the reed bed below The Grove, take a few minutes to listen for the unusual calls from this enigmatic visitor. In extended frost Water Rails will often be pushed out into the outer fringes and more open areas looking for food, so look out for a long-legged small bird, Blackbird sized, scuttling quickly back into the reeds as you approach. Let us know if you see one! ( photo David Watkins @ Staveley Nature Reserve )
