Archibald Thorburn (1860 – 1935) was a renowned British watercolorist and illustrator, celebrated for his highly detailed, naturalistic paintings of British wildlife, particularly game birds and birds of prey.

He is widely considered one of the foremost bird artists of his time, with his work capturing the plumage, texture, and natural behavior of birds with great technical precision.

Residing across the UK, water rail numbers increase in winter with birds escaping frozen conditions on the continent. Many spend the winter on small wetlands, even in urban spaces. 

Moorhens can be found at wetland margins, particularly where there is plenty of vegetation cover, but can also be seen well out in the open.

Coots can be seen on a range of water bodies from small ponds to large lakes, where they can gather in their hundreds to spend the winter. Similar to a water rail, both in their elusive nature and looks,

Crakes breed widely across Europe, spending the winter in eastern Africa and India. There are a handful of breeding records every year from the UK in wet meadow habitat.