A fairly uncommon bird was seen at the local lake a few weeks ago and when I received the call from the local birder network, I quickly grabbed my gear and headed over to try my luck.
The Spotless Crake is a tiny wader that skulks in the reeds along muddy edges. I have not seen one locally and not many anywhere else. This little bird was quite adventurous and not timid at all. It occasionally bolted back into its little tunnels along the bank but soon came out again.
Spotless Crake – passing a tennis ball which gives an idea of its size.
Spotless Crake II
Several other birds were nearby that did not seem to bother the Crake very much. The only bird that had a go and made the Crake jump a bit was an aggro Willie Wagtail and as soon as it moved on the Grebe popped back out again.
Little Pied Cormorant – in the dead tree above the Crake
Little Pied Cormorant – near the Crake.
Spotless Crake and Grebe
The Gap Year and Beyond 
Good to meet you and thanks for the images. What is their copyrigt status? AnyhowI think that was around my 185th bird species in the City of Bayside.. Rivals welcome 🙂
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Thanks Mike, it nice to meet you as well, Birders just keep popping up everywhere…You are welcome to use the photos for any personal collections and any public use just needs to be approved and attributed. Did you get my FB message about the second Grebe nest at the end of the island? I will put up some follow on posts in the next few days
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