A Year in the Valley

I thought at first it was a moorhen, just looking a bit grey in the early morning light, but suddenly I realised that the bill was quite long and when I took a look through the camera zoom, I could see the patterning on its sides.  We have never seen a Water Rail in the garden before.  It is a relative of the moorhen, but with stunning markings – a rich brown back streaked with black, plain grey front, and black & white striped flanks, together with a flame red bill.  They are shy by nature.  This one, dabbling in the muddy pathway, kept running for cover into the long grass.  They favour wetlands and grasslands and are most likely to be seen in the winter.  They will swim, if necessary, and can fly long distances, but prefer to walk, foraging in the mud for insects, crustaceans, small fish, even small animals, and birds, as well as seeds, berries and roots in the winter.