Notable Recent Sightings

05/03 Firecrest 1, Lake Vyrnwy
05/03 Short-eared Owl 1, Lake Vyrnwy
14/01 Pink-footed Goose 1, Dolydd Hafren
03/01 Waxwing 20, Meifod; also 5 Welshpool by canal on 01/01. Last: Welshpool 13/02
23/12 Waxwing Newtown College, first arrivals 04/12, 47 on 23/12, 67 on 01/01, 30 on 04/02
09/12 Cattle Egret 1 roosting with 8 Great Egrets and some Little Egrets, Llyn Coed-y-Dinas
02/12 Waxwing 21 Guilsfield, 12 Montgomery, 1 Welshpool, and 1 on 01/12 Llanfyllin
16/11 Dotterel 3, just west of Dyfnant Forest on RSPB land
16/11 Great Grey Shrike 1, on edge of Dyfnant Forest on RSPB land, last reported 19/01
15/11 Waxwing 25 or 30, just west of Lake Vyrnwy along the Dinas Mawddwy road
08/11 Great Northern Diver A juvenile was found near Anchor, rescued and released
30/10 Black Redstart 1 in garden at Hendomen, near Montgomery
06/10 Hawfinch 5 in treetops at Powis Castle, by main car-park
04/10 Cattle Egret Dolydd Hafren, a flock of c.30
29/09 Red-flanked Bluetail Dyfnant Forest: a county first
23/09 Manx Shearwater 1st year bird grounded in Llanfyllin; released at coast
03/09 Cattle Egret 10 at Cors Dyfi, rising to 32 on 05/09
01/06 Turnstone 1 at Caersws with Little Ringed Plovers
03/05 Wood Sandpiper 1 at Dolydd Hafren
18/04 BLACK-WINGED KITE 1 video-ed at Glan Mule, near Kerry: a likely FIRST for UK
07/04 Black Redstart Female on Carno roof
07/04 Little Ringed Plover Llandinam Gravels
25/03 Osprey Female 5F 'Seren' arrived back at Llyn Clywedog
25/03 Pied Flycatcher An early migrant near Llanfechain
22/03 Hen Harrier Female in flight near Berriew
15/03 Sand Martin 5, Dolydd Hafren
15/03 Golden Plover c.50, Heldre Hill, Long Mountain, nr Welshpool
05/03 Whooper Swan 1, between Caerhowel (Montgomery) and The Gaer, with Mute Swans
05/03 Pink-footed Goose 1, Caersws, with Canada Goose flock
05/03 Jack Snipe 2, Caersws
05/03 Hawfinch 24, Powis Castle, feeding behind orchard
28/02 Pink-footed Goose c.25, flying north over Welshpool
26/02 Merlin 1 male, chasing Meadow Pipit, Long Mountain near Welshpool
26/02 Pintail 3, Llyn Coed-y-Dinas, 1 since 14 Feb
14/02 Hawfinch 1, Powis Castle car-park, very vocal
23/01 Jack Snipe 1, Moel-y-Garth near Guilsfield
17/01 Brambling 80, in beeches at Pen-y-Waen near Cefn Coch with Chaffinches
07/01 Hawfinch 2, bathing in puddle, Cwm Lane, Castle Caereinion
   
See Sightings Archive for older records

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Water Rail with fish at LCyD


Excellent views of a water rail in front of the hide this morning. We were surprised to see it with a fish, which it seemed to find in the shallow water between two patches of reeds - whether it caught or scavenged it we're not sure, but it spent about 20 minutes attempting to eat it in several different locations, before it disappeared from view - amazing camouflage.
Apologies for the poor quality of the photo, but a record shot at least. The bill is open as it was eating, but the fish is hidden from view.
( I had some video footage too, showing the fish being eaten, but although the computer tells me it is being uploaded, nothing happens. If anyone has any helpful hints, that would be great - I did try compressing it to a zipped folder and then uploading that, but to no avail - my computer skills are not good!)

9 comments:

  1. Fantastic Sue - Brian and I heard one calling back in October(ish) but until yesterday not aware that anyone had seen the bird - great stuff

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  2. Thanks Mark - any ideas why I can't upload the video - perhaps it's too big - 87.6 MB compressed but that doesn't mean much to me I'm afraid!

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  3. No idea sorry but that is a bit large!! Video ain't my bag!

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  4. Brilliant news Sue, thanks for posting.The Water Rail could have been there all the time. I may be able to get down to L CYD today, but its over to Mark for a nice pic as I am away.

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  5. Hmm - 2 hours and no show yet!

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  6. Just been reading up a bit about water rails' diet - nothing very specific apart from aquatic invertebrates, insects and plant material - no mention of fish! - but have also read that it uses definite paths fixed by the position of favourable food sources, and that it repeatedly visits successful hunting spots - so I'm keeping fingers crossed for you Mark!

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  7. 7 hours and a big no-show today Sue - hey ho, if it was easy..........!!

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  8. Sue Hi
    Re the video, yes as Mark suggested it is a large file, but if you are downloading to a desk top PC or indeed a laptop there is editing software available to reduce the video into smaller segments. If you took the video on a ipad or iphone or similar, then there are editing apps galore at either very low price or indeed free. If you can pass me the detail of equipment used I would be more than happy to research the net to try and solve the problem, I am lucky to have time on my hands these days - lol. I can be contacted at manafon1@gmail.com.

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    1. Think we must just have been very lucky Mark. Sorry you weren't too.

      Thanks Trevor. I took the footage on my little digital camera - a Canon Power Shot A3100 IS. We're not around for a few days now, but I'll be in touch when we return. Please don't go to a lot of trouble, but the idea of breaking the video down into smaller segments is a good one, especially as the second half is very poor quality - I tried to zoom in too far!

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