We had a Buff-banded Rail in our front garden from June to August in 2011 and it returned a few days before Christmas (I assume it’s the same one).
It usually bathes in our bird bath in the morning then spends several minutes preening. Apart from bathing and preening, it can be seen walking through the plants in the front garden (mainly Lomandras, Dianella and Poas) and occasionally flying up on to the side fence before dropping down into the neighbour’s front garden. However, this afternoon it was feeding around the Lomandras and Dianella and seemed to be eating insects/invertebrates.
The Rail is very relaxed and does not respond to human presence as long as it has a buffer of about 5 metres. If it does become alarmed, it is able to melt into the vegetation without a trace. I have heard rustling in a particularly thick patch of Dianella when gardening and I suspect the Rail may reside there (a good reason to put off clearing that part of the garden!)
The other regular visitors to our front garden are Magpies, Grey Butcherbirds, Noisy Miners and Blackbirds and they have not responded to the Rail. The Miners are typically aggressive towards the Magpies and Blackbirds but don’t seem concerned about the Rail.
Cheers
David ===============================
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