the crake package [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

[Megan Mears <>]

Wow Namadgi sounds awesome. 

I'm having luck with the Baillon's Crake and saw one on the small island at Dickson Wetlands this morning.

There is also a juvenile Australasian Grebe at the Dickson College end of those wetlands. I saw it this morning and also yesterday in the middle of the day. Yesterday it caught a nice yabbie for lunch. I put some pics here. http://choosebirds.blogspot.com.au/ 

This morning 8 gang gangs flew over the wetlands towards Mt Majura.

Megan Mears

On Fri, Jan 11, 2013 at 12:49 PM, Heather Allsopp <> wrote:

We spent a couple of hours at the Namadgi Visitor Centre pond this morning from 7:20 and saw 5 different crakes and rails:

• Baillon's crake
• Spotted crake
• Spotless crake
• Lewin's rail
• Buff-banded rail (parent + 3 young)

Heather & Fred Allsopp

On Mon, Jan 7, 2013 at 9:53 AM, Perkins, Harvey <> wrote:

John and all,

 

Mark Clayton described our sighting of the immature Lewin’s Rail on Saturday morning, but earlier that morning I had also seen a Spotted Crake and Baillon’s Crake – so, yes, all five local rails/crakes appear to be present at the Namadgi Visitors Centre pond currently (ie within the past week or so). Quite an amazing occurrence!

 

Harvey

 

From: John Leonard [
Sent: Monday, 7 January 2013 9:40 AM
To: Canberra Birds
Subject: [canberrabirds] the crake package

 

Interesting that several different spp of Rails/crakes are being observed at the dam at Namadgi Visitors Centre (Buff Banded Rail/Lewin's Rail/Spotless Crake).

 

Along with my memories of reported observations at various wetlands in the ACT, this suggests that the spp in the ACT "crake package" (the above spp plus Spotted and Baillons Crakes), are equally likely to turn up in suitable wetlands, that is once a wetland becomes suitable (enough mud &c) then any or all of the five can be expected.

 

Or does anyone have any observations that suggest that these spp have slightly different requirements?

--
John Leonard

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