It's almost the end of the year and until today I hadn't seen a water rail to add to my yearly count. They tend to prefer the colder weather to emerge from the reeds and when I visited Slimbridge a few weeks back, I missed seeing one. Today, however, I thought that I might have a chance as the temperature registered only 3 degrees. So on my arrival just after the Centre opened I headed straight for the Willow Hide, from where water rails are regularly seen during the colder months. A few people were already in the hide, with a water rail in view which had just emerged further down a channel. I found a good position to watch as it came towards the hide, probing the mud with its red beak. A pair of teal and a couple of moorhens were also beneath the feeders which were attracting sparrows, blue tits and a dunnock. The water rail stayed around for a few minutes before hurriedly retreating. However, I didn't have to wait too long before it reappeared and stayed around for longer and gave some good opportunities for photos.
Walking back to the Rushy Hide, there were no less than 4 species of swan present on the water, Bewicks, Whooper, Mute, and a black Swan. They were located right at the back of the lake so hard to photograph, apart from the Bewicks, of which there had been 60 overnight. Other species of waterfowl included Canada geese, greylags, pintails, pochard, tufted ducks, mallard, shoveler and shelduck. ( Some of the photos below were taken two weeks ago)
