A few regular visits to Willen Lake (north) by Mike Wallen turned up trumps when he found a Spotted Crake early on August bank holiday Monday. Unfortunately, the bird was rather distant, tucked away in front of the reedbed in the north-west corner, about 350m away. News was soon out and the bird was seen by many local birders as well as others from further afield. The bird remained until September 27th.
There were six Spotted Crake sightings in the UK on August 27th and a total of 13 during the whole of August.
Although this bird showed well with patience, it was always at distance, being best viewed from the lake shore in front of the hospice. Certainly a contrast with the previous Willen birds, which frequented the reedbed in the south-west corner and offered much better views.
This individual is only the fifth record record for the county, the others being listed below. A few historical records are now regarded as"unsafe" and are not included.
- 1995 Willen – an adult 19th-23rd Aug, with a juvenile from 5th Sept.
- 2000 Dorney Common – a juvenile showed well for over a week in a stream on the Bucks/Berks border from 9th-19th Oct.
- 2003 Little Marlow GP – 1 from 29th-30th Mar.
It is interesting that another Spotted Crake was found on the same day as the Willen bird, at Eton Wick, Berks - but this is right on the Bucks border on Dorney Common, and only about 150m from the sighting in 2000!