Water Rail

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Water Rail, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Green listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	WBD(II*), Bern(III)

The Water Rail is a secretive species and hence difficult to monitor robustly. Atlas data show a small (6%) increase in the number of occupied 10-km squares in Britain since 1968–72, but it is uncertain whether this reflects a real change or differences in observer coverage (Balmer et al. 2013). The UK population has recently been estimated at 3,900+ pairs taking into account county estimates and dedicated site surveys (Francis et al. 2020). The species had been added to the list of species considered by the Rare Breeding Birds Panel in 2006 but it was dropped in 2018 as a result of this revised UK population estimate. The population is most likely to be stable or increasing, but this is uncertain due to the unreliability of monitoring.

Breeding Water Rails are patchily distributed throughout the lowlands of Britain and Ireland. In winter they are twice as widespread in Britain perhaps because resident breeders are supplemented by migrants from continental Europe.

Changes in range are difficult to interpret for this difficult to detect species.

Water Rails are present throughout the year, sometimes heard in the breeding season but more often seen in winter months.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing

8 years 9 months 30 days (set in 1996)

Wing Length	Adults	121.3±5.8 | Range 112–130mm, N=483
	Juveniles	120±5.8 | Range 111-129mm, N=244
	Males	126.3±3.2 | Range 122–131mm, N=217
	Females	116±3.1 | Range 110–121mm, N=204

Body Weight	Adults	127±22 | Range 93.0–164g, N=429
	Juveniles	118±22.9 | Range 82.0–158g, N=218
	Males	141±18.6 | Range 102–172g, N=186
	Females	112±14.7 | Range 90.0–135g, N=188

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	D (pulli E)
Field Codes	2-letter: WA | 5-letter code: WATRA | Euring: 4070

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Causes of change

Given the difficulty in monitoring this species it is unclear whether there have been any changes in population, although it is likely that the population is stable or increasing (Francis et al. 2020). The small increase in range since 1968–72 could perhaps have been prompted by relatively mild winters during the 1990s and 2000s but it is unclear whether the increase is genuine and it may result simply from improved observer coverage (Balmer et al. 2013). Habitat restoration and creation for other reedbed specialists such as the Bittern may also have benefited the Water Rail.