Wednesday 16 December 2015

Wild Bird Wednesday 177 - Buff-Banded Rail

This Christmas thing is getting out of hand!  However, you will be pleased to know that the still centre of the week that is Wild Bird Wednesday is still here, reliable as ever (if possibly a little shorter than normal this week!)

This bird is a Buff-Banded Rail - a bird which is normally rather secretive, but on Lord Howe Island is rather more bold.  If the truth be told I think that the bird in the first set of shots had just been clipped by a car (or possibly a bike) and was sitting by the side of the road getting its act together!  Eventually it did such off into the bushes, so I dont think there was any serious harm done.

The buff band that gives this bird its name is clear on the chest.  You can also see that it was raining in some of the shots; I have included these so that you know that it was not all sunshine and paradise on the island when I was there! (Oh, the lengths I go to for WBW!)








Although it's not a great picture, I like the beads of water on the back of the last bird.

Now its over to you - put down that Christmas list, and link up to WBW - you know you want to!!  Click on the blue button as ever!  SM

33 comments:

  1. Such a pretty bird and certainly aptly named. The chicks are so sweet.

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  2. a wonderful bird and great shots. I´m also glad it seemed to be OK. Love to see chicks as well.

    Thanks for hosting.

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  3. This is a really lovely bird and your shots captured the color and feather detail perfectly!

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  4. gorgeous bird and great shots of it!!

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  5. The rail has lovely colouring. I'm glad it was not hurt.

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  6. work schedule's prohibited me from linking up lately, but off a few days so am glad to finally join in again. :)

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  7. Gorgeous birds and fantastic photos !
    Greetings

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  8. Hello Stewart, what a beautiful Rail. The chicks are adorable. Great photos. Thanks for hosting, have a happy week!

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  9. I'm enjoying your suffering. Keep up the good field work. Rain or shine. I love the little black chicks accompanying Mom.

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  10. So sorry you have such a hard time birding, Stewart! LOL. These images of the Buff-banded Rail are stunning. I love all these secretive species. I remember how, in Tanzania, I photographed a bird (which I thought was a pigeon) as it was getting dark. When I downloaded the photos I realized this was no pigeon; in fact it was not a bird I'd seen before. I sent it off to the birding fraternity in Dar Es Salaam. The verdict was that I'd spotted and photographed a Corn Crake which was an uncommon to rare on-breeding Palearctic migrant. One of the few passing through East Africa between end November to beginning April. Not one of the birding experts in Dar had ever seen one. My 15 minutes of fame! Thanks for hosting this meme. I'll link up tomorrow (Wednesday) Greetings Jo

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  11. You obtained some splendid shots of this reclusive and very beautiful bird-- complete with its chicks! Sorry- I posted a link to my prior week's blog-- easy enough for the reader to just scroll to the more recent post, but very inattentive of me!

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  12. A beautiful rail, a great luck to see it.

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  13. What a stunning series, Stewart. Rails are really hard to see, as you know, on the mainland, and it is comforting to know that they still reveal themselves more readily on island habitats where predation pressures are less. This is truly precious stuff. In a pure sense I don't envy anyone anything, I never resent anyone else's success in life, but I sure envy you this experience!!

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  14. A very handsomely and uniquely marked bird! I've never seen this one even in photos.

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  15. Neat looking bird. I like the markings on it. I always wonder when birds get knocked goofy due to flying into windows or it hit by cars, do they have stars and little birdies flying around their head going "tweet-tweet"?

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  16. Beautiful bird! Glad the first one wasn't seriously injured.

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  17. I making us suffer is part of the cure for your suffering, you should be all better now. Loved that you got so many pictures of a secretive bird. And with babies as well! It was also interesting to see how closely this bird resembles a Virginia rail.

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  18. Such an interesting mix of pattern and color on this bird. I like the overall shape, well balanced. Thanks for going to the extreme to share the wild birds with us. ;)

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  19. What a pretty bird. I do like it and I like the fact you go to such lengths to obtain these pics for us. Putting life and limb at risk. LOL
    MB

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  20. That's a very pretty bird. I've not heard of them before, nor have I seen photos of them, that I can recall.

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  21. Love the photo with the baby chicks!
    Thanks for hosting WBW
    Lea

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  22. Hello Mr.Stewart; I've never seen Rail with my own eyes p:-) Your Buff-Banded Rail pictures gve me the idea how their color patterns are♪ And the chicks are really adorable♡♡♡

    Sincerely from Japan, xoxo Miyako*

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  23. A little splash of color and voila - a bird is named.

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  24. That's a very striking bird Stewart. It seems that it may not have been as shy as many of the world's rails?

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  25. What a beautifully marked bird! I love the shot with the chicks, and the one with her/his "rain" coat. Nicely captured, Stewart! You're not a humbug, are you, Stewart? I uploaded a little Christmas just in case you're not getting enough, lol!

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  26. Fabulous shots of the Buff Banded Rail, Stewart! I love those little chicks!
    I have only ever seen one of these and it was rather bold too. There is a cafe up in the Sunshine Coast hinterland that is a birders paradise and there is a BBR that wanders around your feet while you're eating. It was quite a treat!

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  27. Beautiful shot and what lovely markings.

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  28. That's funny! I was just reading about these birds the other day. Beautiful! Rails are awesome.

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