Sorry for the late notification but yesterday morning (Saturday January 5) I was birding at the Namadgi Visitors Centre with Kelly Debono and Lee Philip when we ran into Harvey Perkins. I was out there to try and show Kelly and Lee several of the crake species that had been reported recently. Harvey noted that he had seen a large-ish crake like species on a patch of drying mud and thick reeds on the northern side of the pond at the back of the visitor centre. We joined Harvey on a watch and the bird finally showed itself. It was soon obvious, going by the size of the bird and shape of the bill that the bird was a sub-adult Lewin’s Rail. We could see the pinkish base to the bill and watched the bird for 5 minutes or so. Lee tried to get some photos but the bird was rather skittish and unfortunately he photos are not all that good. One does show the bird’s beak.
Having missed the famous Floriade bird several years ago I was very happy to finally get this “bogey” bird of my back.
A report will be sent to the rarities panel in due course.
Mark
