Spotted Crake - Patch Tick

I couldn't get out yesterday afternoon/evening to look for the Spotted Crake that had been seen on the river earlier in the day due to work commitments. So as is usual in these circumstances I was there at first light. Well not quite first light as it was already sort of light when I arrived at 6.15.  I joined Gav who was already in place in the Tower Hide scanning the edges of the reeds and rushes on the far bank from. After around thirty minutes of the bird being nowhere to be seen Steve arrived and almost immediately said "There it is!" I don't know what it is about Steve that causes birds to lie in wait until he arrives and then leap out into view. We had reasonably good views as it made its way along the muddy edges but the light was appalling, there wasn't even any point in trying to get photos. I tried to get a bit of video in which you'll see how poor the visibility was. In the first video the general din at the beginning is Gav 'quietly' leaving the hide. The second video is an 'action sequence' in which the Spotted Crake is hounded by a rather territorial Curlew.

Both myself and Gav returned to the Tower hide this evening hoping for a photo opportunity in the better light, we didn't get it because we dipped.  You can see photos of the bird on Phil's blog here.