Buttonquail vanishes with a zip

Red-backed Buttonquail (Turnix maculosus) takes a rare few steps away from cover before realising error and zipping back into the long stuff at Tyto yesterday. Have flushed a few lately, but the birds show no preference for any particular area so sightings are a matter of luck.

Lucky to see a Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa). This maturing bird dropped in for a few days and just as randomly disappeared. Unlike the only other Dusky sighted in the wetlands the bird stayed well away from the edges of the main lagoon.

Sticking close to the edges of the new lagoons under the even newer walkway from the info centre to the near completed cafe/civic centre/lookout tower, the two Muscovy Ducks that turned up earlier in the week. New species for Tyto, but a potential challenge to native birds.

Also turning up from out of the blue, an Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus optatus). Spotted the bird flying from the west toward Rain Trees near the carpark two days ago. No sign since. Seldom seen in Tyto and last seen early in 2008.

Spotting more Spotless Crakes

Suddenly the Spotless Crakes (Porzana tabuensis) have become easier to find than White-browed Crakes, although probably outnumbered about 20 to one. It's perhaps because the water level has dropped markedly and provided reasonably solid footing around the margins of the scleria islands. The Spotless lacks the very long toes of the White-browed.

Totally unexpected drop-in yesterday in the channel close to the crakes' playground, a Red-backed Buttonquail (Turnix maculosus). Sorry about the rear view, but the bird splashed down, looked about as if bewildered to be sinking, and shot up and away. The species in past years turned up to feed in scruffy areas of mixed weeds. Drenched in weedicides and turned to grass, the areas now support wallabies - and ever more mowing! Don't know how long the buttonquail will stick around amid the monocultures of reeds and scleria.