Friday, October 29: out on the marsh

Here's a delayed version of last Friday's post (October 29) from East Quogue:

A touch of cooler weather this morning, a bank of clouds keeping the sun hidden long past its appointed time and a very low tide suggest an early visit to the marsh to look for possible late October migrants. Eileen Schwinn stops by for an early morning visit and we make our way gingerly as far out as possible towards the open water in the middle. Standing on a precarious mud tussock, we can see the central pond (no yellowlegs or Great Blue Heron this morning) but also into the muddy creek bed that carries the marsh stream flow out and the tidal flow in and out. Suddenly, in a little extension of mud and water almost at our feet, a rail appears! Tucked away in this little crevice, it seems as small as a sparrow but it had a long bill, identifying it as a Virginia Rail, a bird of 9 or 10 inches but somehow dwarfed by the mature Spartina reeds and the mudbanks all around. This plucky not-quite-so-little bird, feeding in the muddy edges, actually moves towards us until is is only a few feet away, right in front of us. It turns and disappears behind the reeds several times but always comee back to what is obviously, from a rail point of view, the sweet spot. Even after the click of Eileen's camera seems to scare it away, it returns, allowing her to take its picture in the gloomy light and allowing me good enough views of the shape and color of the bill (longish, thick at the base and light-colored), the short, wagging tail and the speckled or spotted back). This is not the first view I've ever had of Virginia Rail in the marsh but it is certainly the best and closest!

Here's Eileen's shot of the bird; alas, it doesn't even show the bill but it is, I can assure you, a real live Virginia Rail.

Nothing tops seeing a rail close-up but good views of a calling Winter Wren in the edge vegetation comes near; it was the first of this species for the season. Other birds of note include Common Loon and Marsh Hawk flyovers, a Greater Yellowlegs in the pond first thing in the morning, Juncos oddly perched high in trees in a couple of places and the usual October assortment of Yellow-rumps, finches, sparrows and kinglets (Ruby-crowned only) although in much diminished numbers.

Eric Salzman