Water rails are one of the UK’s most elusive birds. They are on a par with Corncrakes in that they can be heard calling, but so, so difficult to see. They are of the same family as water hens and coots.

They are an uncommon water bird, very much confined to reed-beds and marshland.

A few pairs inhabit the extensive reed beds adjacent to the fishery. We are only aware of them by their weird call, likened to a pig being strangled! In over 20 years I have only seen them out of cover twice! So the stealth camera is the only way to see them out of cover at dawn.

Their numbers have held up, whilst we lost all our water hens to the American mink, an undesirable alien, also responsible for the loss of water voles.