Saltlane

The Water Rail is the squealing piglet of the reedbed. It is a skulking, secretive wader walking or swimming through dense vegetation, mostly hidden. Cold winter weather sometimes forces it into the open and it will 'freeze' if surprised. 

Smaller and distinctly slimmer than the Moorhen, the Water Rai has chestnut-brown upperparts with dark streaks, white stripes on its flanks, grey underparts, a grey face, and a long red slightly curved bill. Its slim body lets it slip through the dense reeds and its long legs with big feet stop it from sinking.  It walks with a high-stepping gait, although adopts a crouch when running for cover, preferring to scuttle away than fly. The Water Rail flight is feeble and fluttering with trailing legs, though this is rarely seen as they mainly fly when migrating at night. They make a strange piglet-like call known as 'sharming' that is heard when they defend their territory.

They swim with a jerky motion like a Moorhen and feed in shallow water, foraging for plants and small creatures like shrimps, frogs, insects and snails. Water Rails follow established feeding routes, frequently returning to favourite hunting areas. They will even jump to take insects from plants, climb to find berries, or dislodge apples from trees so they can eat them on the ground.

Water Rails are monogamous and highly territorial when breeding. The male builds a well-hidden nest from whatever vegetation is available 15cm or more above the level of the marsh. If the water level rises, he will build it even higher. There are usually two broods with mum laying eggs in March and June. She does most of the incubation and the 6-11 eggs hatch after 19 days. She will defend the eggs from intruders or move them to another location. The youngsters are initially fed by both parents but soon leave the nest to feed themselves. They can fly 20 days later and become fully independent after a further month. Mum and dad are flightless for 3 weeks when they do their moult after breeding. The young Water Rails can breed themselves after their first year.

The 1,000 pairs of British Water Rails mainly stay in their breeding areas. Up to 10,000 arrive in autumn from northern Europe to overwinter, but numbers are hard to count being so secretive. One method is to play a Water Rail's call and listen to how many respond. There is evidence that the population is falling because of the draining of marshes and the loss of vegetation along waterways. They are also adversely affected by harsh winters that freeze the water and hot summers that dry out the reedbeds.

Their Latin name is 'rallus acquaticus', the Latin equivalent of the English 'Water Rail'. The oldest known fossils of a Water Rail are from Carpathia and date to the Pliocene era (2.5 - 5 million years ago). By the late Pleistocene (2 million years ago), the Water Rail lived across most of its present range. The squealing piglet has been around for a long time. Hiding is good for survival!

The Common Snipe is a superb demonstration of good camouflage. They are incredibly tricky to see amongst grass and reeds, blending in perfectly. A shy bird that conceals itself in ground vegetation and flies off only when you get too close. When flushed, it utters a sharp note that sounds like "skatch" and flies in a series of aerial zig-zags to confuse any chasing predators.

The stripy Snipe is brown with buff streaks. It has a buff stripe through the centre of its crown and one over the eye. Its legs are short, its belly is white and its bill is very long for its size. When flying, there is a white trailing edge to their pointed wings.

Snipe do not form large flocks but feed together in small groups called 'wisps'. They use their sensitive bill to probe for worms and other insects hidden in soft mud. The bill's end is flexible, enabling it to locate and grasp prey.

The Snipe breeds in wet places like rushy fields and northern moorlands. Nesting begins in April but they can breed as late as August. The male builds a well-hidden nest on the ground and romantically performs a 'winnowing' display on a moonlit night by flying high in circles and then taking shallow dives to produce a 'drumming' sound by vibrating his tail feathers to attract a mate. The female incubates the 4 eggs by herself until they hatch 18 days later. The youngsters quickly leave the nest and the brood is split between mum and dad with dad looking after the older chicks. The youngsters are fed by both parents and can fly after 19 days but take 7 weeks to fully grow and become independent. 

Overall, the Common Snipe is not threatened. However, numbers in parts of Europe and Britain are falling because of the draining of water meadows, ploughing of grasslands, and planting of forests on upland moors. It is now Amber Listed. Of the 70,000 pairs that breed here, a high proportion now breed on nature reserves. British Snipe generally overwinter in the overall area where they nested but move from the uplands to the lowlands. In autumn, more Snipe from Iceland, the Faroe's, and Scandinavia come to overwinter, arriving in September and leaving in March, swelling the numbers to over 1,000,000 pairs. The oldest ringed Snipe was 16.

Their Latin name is 'gallinago gallinago' where 'gallinago' is the Latin name for a Woodcock or Snipe from 'gallina' for 'hen' and '-ago' meaning 'resembling'. The Snipe's courting 'drumming' sound has been compared to the bleating of a sheep or goat; hence, in many languages, the Snipe is known by names such as 'flying goat', 'heaven's ram', 'heather-bleater' and 'sky goat'.

The Avocet is an elegant black and white wader that is a bit of a picky prima donna with a snobby upturned bill. It returned to Britain in 1947 and, as a result of conservation, has flourished, even becoming the RSPB’s emblem in 1970. Avocets like coastal pools and marshes with small islands and little vegetation, so they can easily show off. In winter, many move south to overwinter in Spain and Portugal, though a few stay here.

An Avocet is black and white with a black crown, an upswept thin black bill, and long blue-grey legs. Mum and dad look the same though the youngsters have dark brown patches rather than black. Small fluffy Avocet chicks are unbelievably cute. In flight, their white wings have black wing tips and their legs stick out behind. Their call is a harsh “kluut kluut” and the Dutch word for an Avocet is a ‘Kluut’.

They eat small invertebrates like shrimps and larvae worms by sweeping their bills from side to side while wading in pools.

Avocets return to their breeding sites in March. They are social birds and nest in loose colonies near open water. The nest is made from bits of aquatic vegetation and they will build the nest up if the water level rises. Mum lays 2-4 eggs which hatch after 23 days and the chicks can soon feed themselves. Both parents share the incubation and childcare. Mum and dad will bravely see off any aerial predators, like Lesser Black-backed Gulls, by flying at them while calling loudly. The youngsters can fly 35 days later but the family will stick together for a few weeks. Between June and October, after breeding, mum and dad do their moult.

Avocets, or ‘Pied Avocets’ as they are known globally, are a great conservation success story. Victorian hunters and egg collectors drove them to extinction in the 19th century then, ironically, the flooding of coastal marshes during World War II to make invasion harder provided the perfect breeding habitat and prompted their return. The Avocet is specially protected as most of its breeding sites are now on nature reserves and it is very picky about where it lives. Their largest threat is sea level rise caused by global warming. There are 2,000 breeding pairs in Britain and the numbers swell to 7,500 as northern European birds arrive to overwinter here. The oldest ringed Avocet lived to the ripe old age of 24.

Their Latin name is ’recurvirostra avocetta’ where ’recurvirostra’ is derived from ’recurvus’ for ‘curved backwards’ and ’rostrum’ for ‘bill’. The ’avocetta’ is derived from the Venetian word ’avosetta’ which refers to the black and white outfits worn by Italian lawyers. A black and white bird with an upturned bill fits it perfectly. The English name Avocet is also derived from ’avocetta’, though another less posh name is the ‘yarwelp’ from its call. There are four subspecies of Avocets; the American Avocet, the Andean Avocet, the Australian Red-necked Avocet, and the Pied Avocet. Stilts, another long-legged wader, are from the same family as Avocets.

The Spotted Redshank is the more elegant, slightly larger, handsome cousin of the Redshank. Its shape is like a Redshank that has been stretched a bit. They are a passage migrant, best seen in the autumn and spring, with fewer than 100 overwintering in Britain. They can be found on reservoirs, inland lakes, coastal marshes, lagoons and creeks.

The Spotted Redshank’s dramatic summer plumage is almost entirely dark with white spotting on the wings and a white wedge on its back that shows clearly in flight together with a barred tail. It lacks the Redshank’s white wing bar. In winter, they have a grey back, paler underparts, long red legs and a prominent eye stripe with a black line through the eye. The long bill, unlike a Redshank’s, only has red on the lower part. The female is slightly larger than the male and has a slightly more muted plumage while the youngsters are spotted grey-brown. The Spotted Redshank’s call is a loud “chew-it”.

Spotted Redshanks eat small marine creatures, insects and fish by probing. They often wade into deep water and can submerge their entire head and even upend like a duck when looking for food. 

They breed on arctic bogs and swamps surrounded by woods. The nest is a shallow scrape lined with leaves. In May, mum lays 4 speckled dark green eggs and leaves dad to do most of the 23 day incubation, hanging around for less than a month and leaving before the eggs have even hatched! Like many ladies, she doesn’t like the cold and goes off to form flocks and enjoy shrimp cocktails with the other girls. Dad shows up a month later with the kids once they have fledged. They moult completely between July and September into their winter plumage and moult again between March and May into their summer finery.

The Spotted Redshank, like many waders, is threatened by habitat loss at its wintering grounds and on its migration routes due to coastal erosion or the drainage of wetlands. It is also vulnerable to pollution. Management of their stop-over sites is becoming increasingly important. As they are a relatively scarce wintering bird in the UK, with more than half the population found at fewer than ten sites, they are Amber Listed.

Their Latin name is ’tringa erythropus’ where ’tringa’ is from the Ancient Greek ’trungas’, a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird mentioned by Aristotle, and ’erythropus’ is from Ancient Greek ’eruthros’ for ‘red’ and ’pous’ for ‘foot’. Their English name comes from their spotted black summer plumage. They are also locally known as the ‘dusky redshank’.

The Redshank is a noisy wader with obvious orange legs. Its nickname is the ‘watchdog of the marsh’ as at the first sign of danger a Redshank will take off uttering a shrill, piping “tew tew” alarm call. Redshanks stay here all year, moving south to coastal areas in winter where numbers can triple with Icelandic birds also arrive.

As its name suggests, the Redshank’s most distinctive feature is its bright orange-red legs, which rule out all other waders other than the Spotted Redshank and the Ruff. It is a medium-sized wader with an orange base to its medium-length bill (about 1-2 times the length of its head).  In summer, Redshanks have a brown speckled back with a heavily streaked breast and flanks. In winter, they are a more uniform grey-brown with a plain breast and mottled flanks. When flying, there is an obvious white rear edge to the wing and a white V up the back. The flight is erratic with rapid wing beats and glides while making a “tu-udle tu-udle” call. 

The Redshank is a typical wader, feeding in shallow water around lakes, marshes, mudflats and coastal wetlands. It eats shrimps, small fish, shellfish, snails, small crabs, and marine worms by probing with its bill. On land, it is quite happy to scoff down earthworms, beetles, flies and spiders.

Redshanks breed on open marshes, mires and salt marshes, particularly in Scotland and northern England. Look for one posed on top of a post watching out for danger and flying off noisily when you get too close. The nest is a scrape amongst rushes or grasses made by mum. She lays 4 eggs in May which hatch after 24 days. Both mum and dad incubate the eggs. The cute fluff ball chicks with their bright orange legs can feed themselves but are looked after by their parents. Before they can fly, which is about 30 days later, mum leaves the youngsters in the care of dad. Redshanks do their moult once they have finished breeding.

The Redshank. like many waders, is threatened by the loss of breeding and wintering habitats through wetland drainage, overgrazing of marshes, industrial development or sea-level rises flooding coastal sites. Their nests are also vulnerable to predators such as foxes, crows, mink and weasels. The Redshank is increasingly dependent on nature reserves and is Amber Listed. There are 25,000 Redshanks resident in Britain with numbers increasing to 130,000 in winter. The oldest ringed Redshank lived to 19.

Their Latin name is ’tringa totanus’ where ’tringa’ is from the Ancient Greek ’trungas’, a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird mentioned by Aristotle, and ’totanus’ is from ’totano’, the Italian name for a Redshank. Worldwide, there are six subspecies and the Redshank is closely related to the Wood Sandpiper.