I was called the other day about releasing a water rail Rallus aquaticus back in to the wild. I happened to know just the place, the correct habitat and with an existing population of water rail.
The poor thing was found in a dustbin in Camden, London. How on earth he got there I don’t know, and dread to think.
Water rails are elusive birds found in reed beds, but rarely seen. They resemble moorhens, only they are smaller. It has chestnut-brown and black upperparts, grey face and under-parts and black-and-white barred flanks, and a long red bill.
As you can see I tried to capture a picture, but failed miserably with a blurry shot. It was gone it a shot, so I didn’t get a second chance.
Catch you on the trail
Kris