Spotted Crake Porzana porzana [Linnaeus, 1766]
- One, not aged, Sep. 1917 (D. Carr).*
- One, not aged, 12th-15th Sep. 1996 (K.E. Vinicombe et al.).
- One, not aged, 13th-15th Sep. 1996 (J.P. Martin et al.).
Donal Carr wrote “The spotted crake previously reported as taken on Mendip some years ago was seen at Blagdon in September.”
Two records of unidentified crakes noted in the 1980s may have been this species, but it wasn’t until 1996 that the first accepted record of Spotted Crake was found by Keith Vinicombe. Amazingly, John Martin saw two birds the following day that stayed until the 15th September.
Bibliography (sources of information):
- British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) website
- British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) website
- Davis, A.H. (ed.) Avon Bird Report, 1996. Avon Ornithological Group.