Spotted Crake – reported from Greylake
10-Oct-2019
A probable sighting around mid-day, when a small dumpy. short-billed crake (not a Water Rail) flew fast, left to right, across the gap between the two reed-beds in front of the Lookout Hide. The water level has now risen after heavy rains and there is no longer any visible mud.
Also, Grt W Egret, 13 Golden Plover (flew over >west), 2 Marsh Harriers, 2 Kestrels and a Sparrowhawk.
2-Oct-2019
And still reported from the lookout hide at Greylake, today.
30-Sep-2019
3rd time lucky for me, after my 1st sighting a week ago, when the juv Spotted Crake showed ridiculously well, in almost continuous view from 08:00 to 09:30 this morning as it gradually worked its way towards the hide from the edge of the farthest open muddy area.
For photos click on the links below…
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EFvA1FpWkAAhHSD.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EFvA3SNWwAEPKHe.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EFvA4NBW4AAf-9b.jpg
Many thanks Jeff for the update from today.
Wonderful views of the Spotted Crake from the main hide this morning. It spend about 2 hours (on and off) being seen on the edge of reeds slightly right of the main hide. It can emerge from either side, there was also a Water Rail in the same reed bed. Then it sprinted right across the front of the hide and could be seen preening in the undergrowth to the left of the main hide. Initially the bird was at the far end of the reeds in front of the hide, but appears to have been driven towards the hide by the Moorhens.
A stoat was also seen heading towards to the hide.
29-Sep-2019
Spotted Crake again present from the Lookout Hide (main hide) at 09:15 this morning - per Robin Morrison on Twitter.
The bird flew right to left at around midday on the 27th & observed by all present.
Perhaps it morphed into a Lesser Spotted Crake!
It showed several times in that spot after Chris had left and up until I left at 17.40pm. But never for long and always obscured by some vegetation.
With people watching all day, I wonder how it managed to move from the right hand side of the hide in the morning to the left hand side in the afternoon without being seen?
Showed briefly at about 1550h`rs to the left of the main hide, beneath the willow shrub but disappeared further into the willow stand, the wind was up a bit so it was keeping it`s head down!
Showing well this Friday morning, on the strip of mud between the two reedbeds directly in front of the main hide, before disappearing back into the reedbeds also green sandpiper.
Spotted the spotted crake this morning
Video here.
https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com/p577876181#hd7e5950e
Pictures here.
https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com/p577876181#hd7e51b52
https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com/p577876181#hd7e51b51
https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com/p577876181#hd7e51b4e
https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com/p577876181#hd7e51b57
Some nice photos of it out in the open on Somerset Nature Photography facebook page yesterday evening.
23-Sep-2019
A lucky visit to Greylake this morning when this juv Spotted Crake showed briefly at 10:40 and again at 11:05, but not again by 12:00 when I left there. It was just out to the right from the main hide, on the edge of the last small open patch of mud.
Click on the photos below:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EFJnOJrXoAIHAp7.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EFJnTJ0XoAAmrmx.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EFJnWuxX4AA7Cpa.jpg
20-Sep-2019
Spent some time today chatting to an apparent knowledgeable birder and his wife who were visiting the Somerset Levels on a weeks birding holiday. He told me that they were in the main hide at Greylake on Weds (18th Sep) from where he was ‘scoping a few (4 or 5) Snipe in the cut margin of the main pool off to the right of the kingfisher-perch. All of a sudden a Spotted Crake walked in to his ‘scope view and then spent a few minutes playing hide-and-seek among the bank-side vegetation before emerging in to full view, long enough for him to get his wife to have a good look at it.
Needless to say, I spent 2 fruitless hours looking for it this afternoon between 14:00 and 16:00 hrs.