King Rail

 

August 4th

          I was dragged out of bed this morning at 5:00am which seemed way too early.  Mike and I wanted to chase a King Rail that had been reported west of Columbus for the last three days.  Mike was convinced that we needed to arrive early to maximize our chance of seeing the rail.  Against my better judgement, I got dressed, made a cup of coffee and we left in the dark at 5:30am. 

          We arrived at Prairie Oaks Metro Park about 8:00am.  As we got out of the car, we spoke to a woman who had seen the King Rail earlier.  She showed us where to look and right away we saw movement in the reeds.  Within a couple of minutes, the bird was out in the open.  The lighting was perfect, and we all got great looks at the rail and Mike took some excellent photos.  This was the best look we had ever had of a King Rail which is usually a very skulky bird.

          A King Rail is a chicken-sized marsh bird, the largest of our rails.  It has become an uncommon species because many wetlands have been drained.  It's a slender rail with a short tail and a long slightly curved bill.  The upperparts are mottled brown and rusty.  The flanks are barred white, and the neck and breast are rusty.  A King Rail is very similar to a Clapper Rail but prefers freshwater marshes with cattails.  The Clapper Rail is usually found in brackish or saltwater marshes.

          After our early morning success, we decided to go for a long shot.  A Clay-colored Sparrow had been reported over two weeks ago near Sidney, OH.  This is northwest of Columbus near the Indiana border.  The bird had been heard in a large field that is a protected area for Pheasant conservation.  We arrived around 11:00am and walked up and down the quiet road listening for the buzzy call of the Clay-colored Sparrow.  We could not locate any Clay-colored Sparrows and may have to give up on finding it this year.

          After lunch in Sidney, we headed for home.  Even though we couldn’t find the Clay-colored Sparrow, we felt it had been worth a try.  I was a little tired but had to admit that Mike may have been right about getting up so early to see the King Rail.

(1 new species, total for the year 287)

King Rail (scarce) 

                                       King Rail

                                       Another view


           

Comments

  1. AnnAugust 5, 2022 at 5:09 AM

    Fabulous photos of the king rail. I love the one with the reflection.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousAugust 5, 2022 at 9:05 AM

    Cathy, you could get an RV and a chauffeur's hat for Mike, and then crawl into the RV bed on these early or late trips with instructions to be awakened when the birds show up and the coffee has percolated. ;-)

    ReplyDelete

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