Water rail
Rallus aquaticus Linnaeus, 1758
Rallidae; Gruiformes; Aves; Chordata
Tewinbury, Hertfordshire
February 2010
Today I saw my first ever water rail, from a newly constructed hide by a patch of wetland. Usually, I see no more than mallards, coots and egrets, but today, as well as about eight teal (Anas crecca), I caught a glimpse of this elusive bird. It was starting to get dark, so the lighting isn't fantastic in the above photo, but you can clearly see its brown-and-black mottled upper parts, grey face, neck and throat and black-and-white striped sides. The long, red bill can also be seen. I was extremely happy to have seen this bird. I look forward to my next visit: water voles (Arvicola amphibius) and bitterns (Botaurus stellaris) are said to be found there.
Other weird and wonderful birds can be seen from the comfort of a pet shop/garden centre. There is this bizarrely interesting place just outside Hertford (the county town, or 'capital' if you like, of Hertfordshire, most famous to naturalists as the birthplace of Alfred Russel Wallace): it has a restaurant, bar, specialist cookware store, pet accessories store and outdoor garden centre selling flowers, seeds, shrubs, garden furniture and ducks. Yes, I said ducks...
Male mandarin duck
Aix galericulata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata
Riverside Garden Centre, Hertfordshire
February 2010
White-faced whistling-duck
Dendrocygna viduata (Linnaeus, 1766)
Dendrocygnidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata
Riverside Garden Centre, Hertfordshire
February 2010
Fulvous whistling-duck
Dendrocygna bicolor (Vieillot, 1816)
Dendrocygnidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata
Riverside Garden Centre, Hertfordshire
February 2010
As well as a few pairs of call ducks (a small breed of domestic duck used by hunters as 'decoys' while shooting wild ducks), the above three species of wildfowl are available to buy (but only in pairs) from the garden centre, and I was surprised to find out the centre stocks many other species and varieties of wildfowl, for as little as £40 a bird, on their website. Looks like I may have to start collecting ducks now... Interestingly, the restaurant attached to the garden centre goes by a different name, 'Whistling Duck', which at first I thought was just a cute name, with the owners maybe not being aware that there is such a thing, not just a farmyard duck that can whistle a tune. This was until I saw the two species of whistling-duck in the adjoining garden centre that I realised how apt the name really was.
A place I love to visit when funds are low and I'm itching to take more wildlife shots is the Van Hage Animal Centre in Ware, also in Hertfordshire. Also attached to a garden centre, there is a menagerie of typical farmyard fare, like ducks, turkeys, chickens, pygmy goats and rabbits, as well as more unusual child-friendly animals, like a striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), a pair of ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua), meerkats (Suricata suricatta), a raccoon (Procyon lotor), an African spurred tortoise (Geochelone sulcata), a pair of barn owls (Tyto alba) and even Richardson's ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii). So, to end with, I give you...
Meerkat
Suricata suricatta (Schreber, 1776)
Herpestidae; Carnivora; Mammalia; Chordata
Van Hage Animal Centre, Hertfordshire
February 2010
Male Edwards' pheasant
Lophura edwardsi (Oustalet, 1896)
Phasianidae; Galliformes; Aves; Chordata
Van Hage Animal Centre, Hertfordshire
February 2010
Degu
Octodon degus (Molina, 1782)
Octodontidae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata
Van Hage Animal Centre, Hertfordshire
February 2010
Leucistic (not albino) Siberian chipmunk
Tamias sibiricus Laxmann, 1769
Sciuridae; Rodentia; Mammalia; Chordata
Van Hage Animal Centre, Hertfordshire
February 2010
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