Legging it

I started the day at the little wetland reserve Stratford District Council have established off the Warwick Road, but there was very little going on - there were a few Long-tailed Tits in the spinney, which wouldn't stay still to have their portraits taken, but not much else. So then I went to Compton Verney, where I discovered that there are still no Great Crested Grebes on the lake (the two long-time resident pairs having fled the site last year when a family of otters moved in), and that the shrubbery, which was loud with birdsong, was inaccessible, having been closed by the Safety Elves on account of the stormy weather.

Cue grinding of teeth.

I was wandering around, trying to get enough of a phone signal to check whether Charlecote Park was open, and failing, when I spotted three Moorhens grazing an area of lawn between the house and the lake. I'd never seen this behaviour before, but my books tell me that Moorhens are essentially omnivorous, eating a variety of plants, fruits, and seeds, as well as worms, invertebrates, molluscs, the infamous 'small fish', and even the eggs of other birds.

The books also state that Moorhens are bold and confident, but that's never been my experience, and certainly this trio weren't at all confiding. They're members of the family Rallidae, commonly called rails, and in general these are secretive birds that are wary of humans, though they can be extremely aggressive towards each other during the breeding season. Today I found myself playing Grandmother's Footsteps: the Moorhens were clearly keen to graze, but every time I edged towards them they would all hurl themselves into the reed bed at the edge of the lake, where they immediately became invisible. Then almost as soon as I turned my back they would reappear and stomp back up the bank - only to repeat the performance when I began trying to photograph them again. Eventually, persistence got me a few frames of this one moving back towards the reeds at an extended trot, and displaying its ridiculous feet.

The indistinct markings on its sides, and the fact that the colours of its bill and head shield are also quite poorly defined, suggest that this is a first winter bird. Watching the three together, I was reasonably sure that two were young adults while the third was fully mature, which made me wonder if I was looking at a mother with teenage offspring. If that's the case, the adult will need to start encouraging her youngsters to leave her side before the breeding season begins again in March.