Crake up a Tree

[Paul Dodd <>]

Hey Richard,

I remember when we saw the Lewin's at Mt St Joseph's Pond last year -  
one thing that surprised me was seeing Spotless Crakes perched on top  
of the  reeds, and sometimes bushes too.
Paul Dodd
Docklands, Victoria

Sent from my iPhone

On 29/12/2008, at 7:05 PM, "Dr Richard Nowotny" < 
> wrote:
> By way of background:
>
> 1.    There is a large waterside sculpture ("urban art") in Melbourne
> Docklands consisting of a stylized cow up an equally stylized tree.  
> It goes
> by the catchy but somewhat unimaginative title of "Cow up a Tree".
> 2.    I visited Herdsman Lake in the western suburbs of Perth last  
> Tuesday
> morning (30/12) and to my surprise saw 5 Spotless Crakes at 3  
> different
> locations (first a swimming pair from the boardwalk, and then 3  
> separate
> single sightings around the lake edge). This was surprising in part  
> because
> on 15 previous visits at which I have kept records since April 2005  
> I have
> seen no crakes at all (although Buff-banded Rail is not uncommon).  
> [I am
> aware that crakes are certainly present (other birders' records,  
> presence of
> calls, regular sightings at nearby Lake Monger, etc) but I have not
> previously managed to see any there - this in spite of a bird-list  
> for the
> site which has now reached 87 species - and was 64 species last  
> Tuesday.]
> However, what was most surprising was that the sighting of the fifth
> Spotless Crake was of a bird flying out of a small lake-side Swamp  
> Paperbark
> (Melaleuca rhaphiophylla) into a larger WA Flooded Gum (E. rudis)  
> where it
> perched on a small branch around 6 metres off the ground for a few  
> minutes
> (hence "Crake up a Tree") until I inadvertently disturbed it,  
> whereupon it
> flew a short distance into a second small Swamp Paperbark (perhaps 2  
> metres
> tall) and then disappeared - into the thick grass around its base I  
> presume
> (I could find no sign of the bird on quite close inspection of the  
> tree and
> its immediate surrounds). I have never before seen a crake of any type
> anywhere in the world in a tree, let alone perching high in a  
> eucalypt like
> a song-bird. Has anyone else seen this entirely unexpected  
> behaviour? Is it
> reported in HANZAB, HBW or elsewhere? (I'm presently on holiday and  
> don't
> have access to my library. I could find no reference to such  
> behaviour on
> the Web - for Spotless Crake specifically.)
>
> Richard Nowotny
>
>
>
>
>
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