We had a Buff-banded Rail in our front garden from June to August in 2011
and it returned a few days before Christmas (I assume it's the same one).
It usually bathes in our bird bath in the morning then spends several
minutes preening. Apart from bathing and preening, it can be seen walking
through the plants in the front garden (mainly Lomandras, Dianella and
Poas) and occasionally flying up on to the side fence before dropping down
into the neighbour's front garden. However, this afternoon it was feeding
around the Lomandras and Dianella and seemed to be eating
insects/invertebrates.
The Rail is very relaxed and does not respond to human presence as long as
it has a buffer of about 5 metres. If it does become alarmed, it is able
to melt into the vegetation without a trace. I have heard rustling in a
particularly thick patch of Dianella when gardening and I suspect the Rail
may reside there (a good reason to put off clearing that part of the
garden!)
The other regular visitors to our front garden are Magpies, Grey
Butcherbirds, Noisy Miners and Blackbirds and they have not responded to
the Rail. The Miners are typically aggressive towards the Magpies and
Blackbirds but don't seem concerned about the Rail.
Cheers
David
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