Irish Birding Sighting Record

Website : www.irishbirding.com
Sighting URL : https://www.irishbirding.com/birds/web/Display/sighting/96886/Water_Rail.html
Sighting Ref : IB96886
Sighting Date : 29 Mar 17
Common Name : Water Rail
Scientific Name : Rallus aquaticus
Location : Bray
County : Wicklow
Number Seen : 1
Principal Observer(s) : Johanna Keene Not Specified
Reported By : Not Specified
Comments : This may be of some interest to you - today my children said they'd found a dead bird on the way home from school. They know a lot about wildlife so I was surprised when they said they didn't recognise it. We went back for a look and it was a Water Rail! This is the first we've seen in Ireland and we have lived here for one and a half years. It looks to have been caught, possibly by a bird of prey, as feathers have been ripped out. It was found in the Woodbrook Glen estate in Bray, Co Wicklow. I don't know of any suitable habitat around here where it could have come from, although there is a small stream in a wooded area at the bottom of the estate, and possibly a pond in the grounds of the nearby golf club.
Photos :
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Photographer(s) : © Johanna Keene