In Focus 2006 - Spotted Crake – Porzana porzana

All images copyright of Jonathan Meyrav

Spotted Crake is a rare passage migrant in Israel. Partly due to their habit preferences, very few Spotted Crakes are recorded in southern Israel

I was pleased to find this very confiding individual in a little bog near Mitzpe Ramon on the afternoon of March 6. We all know how frustrating watching Crakes can be, but this bird was feeding in the open, and concentrated its efforts around, and inside a plastic bucket half submerged in the mud… That's what migration does to you.

The bird must have arrived at the site not long before we did, since a fellow birder extensively birded the site several hours earlier and the bird was not there. The tame behavior of the bird and the fact that it was feeding aggressively, also point to the possibility that the bird was probably after a long stretch of desert, and needed energy fast.

I am happy to bring you a few images of this beautiful Crake. Click the pictures to enlarge [+]

Jonathan Meyrav

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