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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Just for fun - how many rails have you seen? (1 Viewer)

12, although still missing several US species. Black Rail is sort of dodgy and will probably get removed from the list.

American Coot
Eurasian Coot
Red-knobbed Coot
Common Moorhen
Dusky Moorhen
Black Rail
Australian Swamphen
Sora
Australian Crake
Spotless Crake
Virginia Rail
Clapper Rail
 
I've not got many - won't count heards for lifers and I prefer not to flush (ahem) so an austral rail calling within three feet was particulalry frustrating. :C

Just 28 for me - including a tame tiri tiri takahe and a (just as tame) Henderson Island flightless chicken :t:
 
DMW said:
For UK birders not fussed about their British lists, Corncrake is really easy to see at Angers in NW France, just a 3 hour drive from the port of St Malo. Probably a lot quicker and cheaper for south coast birders than Western Isles. Wet meadows literally on the edge of the city are full of raspers, and Little Bustard, Bonelli's Warbler, Rock Sparrow etc nearby - makes a great weekend trip.
Click to expand...

Sound logic - not that logic comes into these things.

I was worried it would be an expensive dip when I went to Balranald - :-O - one of the many 'crex sightings that weekend was a pair fighting it out in the open in the car park....
 
11 species for me, mostly in North America:

North America:
American Coot
Common Moorhen
Purple Gallinule
Virginia Rail
Sora
Clapper Rail
King Rail
Yellow Rail

Neotropics:
Andean Coot
Gray-necked Wood-Rail
Chestnut-headed Crake
 
At least 18, amazingly.
Buff-banded Rail
Clapper Rail
Virginia Rail
European Water-Rail
Slaty-breasted Wood-Rail
White-breasted Waterhen
Black-tailed Crake
Little Crake
Baillon’s Crake
Spotted Crake
Sora
Blackish Rail
Grey-headed Swamphen + Eastern Swamphen
Common Moorhen + Common Gallinule (or Laughing Moorhen, definitely a split for me)
Dusky Moorhen
Common Coot
American Coot
Caribbean Coot

And 4 heard only:
Corncrake (my morals got in the way)
Ash-throated Crake (they just didn't show...)
Rufous-sided Crake (too far away)
Red-necked Crake (no tape)

Should have tried harder for Yellow Rail and did badly in PNG.
 
As long as you haven't lived in a bungalow all your life there's probably another one you can add to the list to make it 4 ...

(Resisted it so far ;) )
 
dantheman said:
As long as you haven't lived in a bungalow all your life there's probably another one you can add to the list to make it 4 ...

(Resisted it so far ;) )
Click to expand...

:-O

A mere 6 for me, but all British and 5 in Devon!

[Not counting the sighting in my youth of the now feared extinct British Rail - viewable only in the summer and after at least 90 minutes delay! ;) ]
 
Edward said:
although I'd sell my mother to Barbary pirates for a chance to see Inaccessible Island Rail. Probably.
Click to expand...

Check out below Edward :t: :-O :-O
1 White-spotted Flufftail
2 Buff-spotted Flufftail
3 Red-chested Flufftail
4 Nkulengu Rail
5 Swinhoe's Rail
6 Yelow Rail
( You have to WORK to get tthe last 2! )
7 Speckled Rail
8 Red-necked Crake
9 Red-legged Crake
10 Slaty-legged Rail
11 Russet-crowned Crake
12 Rusty-flanked Crake ( reasonably "easy" in Yacambu N.P., Venezuela )
13 White-throated Crake
14 Grey-breasted Crake
15 Black Rail
16 Weka
17 Okinawa Rail ( surprisingly easy, they come out onto lawns first thing in the morning )
18 Barred Rail
19 Buff-banded Rail ( s.l. )
20 Slaty-breasted Rail
21 Clapper Rail
22 King Rail
23 Virginia Rail
24 Water Rail
25 African Rail
26 Lewin's Rail
27 African Crake
28 Corn Crake
29 Rouget's Rail
30 Snoring Rail
31 Inaccessible Rail
32 Rufous-necked Wood Rail
33 Grey-necked Wood Rail
34 Uniform Crake
35 Bare-eyed Rail
36 Brown Crake
37 Isabelline Bush-hen
38 Rufous-tailed Bush-hen
39 White-breasted Waterhen
40 Black Crake
41 Little Crake
42 Baillon's Crake ( on 4 continents! )
43 Spotted Crake
44 Australian Crake
45 Sora ( Crake )
46 Ruddy-breasted Crake
47 Band-bellied Crake
48 Spotless Crake
49 Yellow-breasted Crake
50 White-browed Crake
51 Striped Crake
52 Spotted Rail
54 Watercock
54 Purple Swamp-hen ( s.l. )
55 Takahe ( easy on Tiritiri Matange, off Aukland )
56 Allen's Galinule
57 ( Am. ) Purple Gallinule
58 Gough Moorhen
59 Common Moorhen
60 Dusky Moorhen
61 Lesser Moorhen
62 Spot-flanked Gallinule
63 Black-tailed Native-hen
64 Red-knobbed Coot
65 Black ( Eur. ) Coot
66 American Coot
67 Caribbean Coot
68 White-winged Coot
69 Red-gartered Coot
70 Red-fronted Coot

Chris
p.s. I like Rails :t: :t: :t:
 
Matt (and others), we (three birding companions and I) were within two feet of a Black Rail at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, near Great Bend, Kansas. I probably almost stepped on it! It was calling from a wet ditch grown up in rather high vegetation. It then moved away from us and continued calling. We never got even a glimpse! It was great to hear its very distinctive call though.

Matt Prince said:
I've not got many - won't count heards for lifers and I prefer not to flush (ahem) so an austral rail calling within three feet was particulalry frustrating. :C

Just 28 for me - including a tame tiri tiri takahe and a (just as tame) Henderson Island flightless chicken :t:
Click to expand...
 
Didn't know there were that many rails, but then pretty much the only knowledge I have about non-UK birds is what I've seen on TV!

Working in electronics I have seen a lot of other types of rail though: the +5V rail, -12V rail, +300V rail....

;)
 
lewis20126 said:
Including moorhens and coots? Best ones Inaccesssible Rail, Galapagos Rail, Ocellated Crake,

77 (no Swamphen splits)

I reckon plenty of folk have seen 100+

cheers, alan
Click to expand...

So, Lewis20126... you're the leader so far. Are you going to list them so we can pull your list apart ;) Or do you have better things to do with your time.

K :smoke:
 
KFC said:
So, Lewis20126... you're the leader so far. Are you going to list them so we can pull your list apart ;) Or do you have better things to do with your time.

K :smoke:
Click to expand...

Maybe next week - time to sleep and then drive to dorset to see a pretty duck.

cheers, a
 
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