I put up a rail this morning from the marsh and at first glance I thought it was a Virginia Rail. First glance is all I had as it dangled briefly across my startled vision and then dropped down into high reeds on the other side never to be seen again. It looked quite plain in the early morning light with a long bill. It was smaller than a Green Heron which triggered the synapse which produced the readout: Virginia Rail. But "smaller than a Green Heron" is not really small enough for a Virginia Rail (which is half the size of a Green Heron) and, on second thought, I decided that it was a Clapper or (less likely) King Rail. Although the light was only fair and the glimpse was fleeting, I can say that it wasn't a very well marked bird and was probably a young of the year.
I also saw a sub-adult Green Heron, probably a product of the class of 2009 and not a bird of the year. The adult Green Herons are still in the neighborhood and I often hear them calling from inside the woodland where I think they may have a late nest. These days most of the action is on the water or wetlands: Royal Terns, Spotted Sandpiper (with or without spots), Great Blue Heron and Belted Kingfisher just about every day now.
Eric Salzman
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