One of the special birds at "Tiddalac" is the Pale-vented Bush-hen, often heard but rarely seen, and those few times I have seen it in the two years I've been here have been mostly fleeting glimpses.
However, today around 6:15pm I was inspecting the damage to the creek banks following all the recent rains and flushed the bush-hen from my side to the other side of the creek. This time, rather than its usual caper of disappearing into the thick vegetation immediately, it just proceeded to pick its way along what is now a relatively bare bank, thanks to the flood waters, giving a soft repetitive one note call and pausing often. I was taking photos all the while but unfortunately having to use the flash. It wasn't perturbed though; seemed to be somewhat curious if anything, looking in my direction. Alas the battery went flat all too soon and some of the best photo opportunities went begging.
What surprised me most was that at one stage the bird clambered up into a large lantana bush and perched on top of it, surveying the scene for a minute or so, before doing an "exit stage right" and continuing on its merry way along the bank. Until today, I had never seen a bush-hen standing anywhere but on the ground.
A memorable encounter with a very shy fellow-resident, which is going to be hard to top.
Cheers
Mick
Bush-hen finally lives up to its name
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