Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Buff-banded Rail

This post is for World Bird Wednesday

A couple of weeks ago (July 5) I posted about being invited to see some Bush Stone-Curlews - (which I should have called by their new name of Bush Thick-Knees! - thanks Tony!) - in a very beautiful and bird-friendly garden. Brian and Sue were kind enough to invite me a second time - this time to wait and see if we could see one of a pair of Buff-banded Rails (Rallus philippensis). Brian and Sue have a yard that backs onto public reserve land which runs along a creek. This land is not mowed so there is dense vegetation here. My birding books says that these birds prefer areas of rank grasses near water. Possibly this is where the birds live permanently but they frequently wander through the garden area as well. They had been walking through the garden at the edge of the tall grass just before I arrived and after waiting a bit one of the birds walked out into sight and then quickly ran along beside the tall grass and disappeared again. The only other views I have had of rails have been very brief and certainly not long enough to get a camera focused on them. Thanks again Brian and Sue!

21 comments:

  1. These are so beautiful. Now this is a bird I have not come across as yet, where there is life, there is hope ...

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  2. Thanks Arija, I've only had brief glimpses before this. Different part of the country mean different birds - it would be great if we could all shuffle around for a while!

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  3. looks like a good-looking prairie chicken. :)

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  4. Very handsome bird!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  5. What a lovely bird to see Mick...
    You see so much variety on your patch.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Rails are always a cool sighting. They seem to be so secretive. Great captures and sighting.

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  7. Wow Mick, Your buddies came through for you big time again! The pictures of the rail are really something! Their garden sounds fantastic. In the age of manicured lawns we sure displace a lot of wild life and your friends home sounds like a refreshing break from that. I'll bet they truly appreciate your enthusiasm for their space!

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  8. It's nice when you can see birds like this in your own back yard. I'm fortunate to have a similar situation. I don't see rails though but lots of quail and an occasional wild turkey. In winter I have lots of hawks coming to my feeder but not for the birdseed.

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  9. Hi there - now thats not a bad bird to have on a garden list!

    I also can find "up-to-date" references to "Thick Knees" and "Curlews"!

    Cheers Stewart M

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  10. Great capture of a secretive bird, Mick! I have never been able to see, never mind capture, any rail.

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  11. Beautiful bird! I love seeing your shorebirds from Down Under.

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  12. They are beautiful birds!

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  13. Great shots Mick! Typical rail behavior eh? They are tough ones to catch out in the open. Well done! And what a beauty. I would love to see one of those.

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  14. Hi Mick - I had a look at the Birds Australia web site today and they still list the Bush Stone Curlew as just that! I think I'll be sticking with that name.

    Cheers SM

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  15. lovely shots of a difficult bird. :)

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  16. what beautiful markings this bird has!

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  17. What a great opportunity its a fab looking bird very colorful!!

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  18. Love learning about your birds there!

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  19. So colourful & beautiful!
    It must be amazing to have these in your garden, whoa!

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  20. Glad you captured this fellow, I think I haven't seen it before and it's a fantastic bird.

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