Sanctuary Life
Water rail rescue
Alright, so what is a water rail? This beautiful bird was brought in by Charlesworth Vets yesterday and is a wetland bird and one we haven’t seen in these parts before. The water rail is similar to a moorhen, liking marshy areas and reed beds.
It’s a large bird, around ten inches long and with the distinctive red beak. Her normal habitat would be Eastern Europe but they are seen in the U.K. in northern and central areas. This water rail is a lovely colour and is brown on top with blue grey feathers underneath. It’s not a threatened species as there are plenty of breeding populations in Europe but this is the first we’ve seen here.
We don’t know what is wrong with her, apparently a cat had her so it might be internal injuries, there are no visible wounds. The good news is that she’s eating well and looking brighter today. Hopefully, a few days rest and lots of live mealworms and other goodies – and she’ll be well enough to be released.
image copright: B.W. Images