Now that spring is officially here, it’s time to start breeding bird surveys, and the first surveys I undertake each year are for breeding Water Rail. Unlike most birds which can be either seen or heard quite easily, Water Rails are very secretive, spending most of their time deep in reeds. They do however, have a very noisy squeal, rather like a pig. The trick is to get the Water Rails to squeal on demand, so we know where they are, or aren’t. We do this by playing a recording of a squeal at likely locations for 1 minute, and them listening for 1 minute to see if any territorial birds respond, which they do quite angrily. Over the years, I’ve learned that strips of reed along the edges of water bodies do not hold breeding birds, and they instead prefer to be in blocks of wet reed.
I was really looking forward to hearing angry Water Rails squealing at me on Friday morning. But the survey was something of a disappointment. Although the birds were there, it was quite difficult to get them to respond, and when they did, it was with little enthusiasm and very lethargic. It was like listening to Coldplay. I can only presume that the recent cold and wet weather has kept them in winter mode. So while the reserve is full of returning migrants announcing their arrival with song, our resident Water Rails are just not in the mood yet.
A not in the mood Water Rail, by Lockhart Horsburgh
I should point out that playing recordings of bird songs is not something we encourage, as it can cause distress to the birds in the area. For instance, If the birds hear a recording of a very strong and fit male, they may want to leave rather than get into an argument. Consequently, I have to be very careful how loud I play the Water Rail recordings, as I don’t want to make any of our Rails feel inadequate.