There are a lot of crakes and rails being seen in SEQ at the moment. Possibly
more than normal. The same is certain for Australian Painted Snipe which seek
out similar habitats. I suspect it is a combination of 2 things:
a) 3 good wet summers in a row in SEQ, and inland Qld, allowing habitat to
rejuvenate and birds to breed well b) a dry spring and early summer exposing a
lot of muddy edges so the birds are more visible.
I am sure a lot of the rails/crakes were here anyway (e.g. I have heard a lot
of Bush-hens, Spotless Crakes and Lewin's Rails over the last 3 years) - we're
just seeing more as muddy edges are exposed giving ideal viewing conditions.
Rob Morris
Brisbane, Australia
> From:
> To:
> Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2013 14:18:59 +1100
> CC:
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Is this an outstanding year for crakes and rails
> for some reason?
>
> The arrival of Baillon's Crake, a bird seldom recorded in Tasmania, is quite
> conceivably the result of dispersal after good inland breeding. Jez, I think
> the higher reporting rate of crakes in general at Gould's Lagoon, however,
> simply reflects a) the geater search effort by observers wishing to see the
> rarity, and b) considerably lower water levels than preceding years, meaning
> crakes are much more visible while feeding on exposed mud.
>
> If the arrival of Baillon's Crake is the precursor to a dispersal of
> 'mainland' species not usually present here in Tasmania, happy days!
>
> Cheers,
> Paul
>
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