For years I have enjoyed perusing bird field guides where my attention is often drawn to the most very rare birds. I want to be ready if I ever come across any of them. Among these, two neotropical members of the family Rallidae have always been particularly intriguing; Paint-billed Crake and Spotted Rail. Paint-billed Crake is known from two specimens from the United States, one from Virginia and the other from Brazos, County Texas. There are also two US specimens of Spotted Rail, one from Pennsyvania and one from Brown County, Texas. All four of these records are from the 1970's. A third Spotted Rail was brought to a rehabber in Victoria, TX in 2015. Neither of these species have ever been observed by birders in the wild in the United States untill yesterday when a Spotted Rail was photographed at Choke Canyon State Park on the shoreline of 75 Acre Lake.
I have birded quite a bit in Mexico in places where Spotted Rail should occur but I've never seen one. I have seen the Plumbeous Rail in a coastal wetland in Peru which, being in the same genus, is somewhat similar. But I really wanted to see a Spotted Rail someday. So when I saw the photo of the Choke Canyon Spotted Rail on the ABA's Rare Birds Facebook page, I knew I had to make a run up there.
With a dark and early start I was in George West when I got the call from Mary Gustafson that she was looking at the Spotted Rail. Darn it! I shouldn't have stopped for tacos. In another half hour I was there on the edge of the marsh only to find out the rail had been missing for the past twenty minutes. Not much else to do but wait and after about an hour the Spotted Rail was found nearby. It had sneeked past us to another part of the marsh. My shots aren't great. The bird was always backlit or patially obscurred by vegetation. But gee....what a great bird!
Quite a few birders dropped in to see the Spotted Rail today. I bet well over a hundred got to see the bird. I'm sure the top ABA listers are booking their flights for this species that no one has ever ticked in the ABA area. Maybe they will see it tomorrow or maybe not. It's great to live in Texas where rarities like Spotted Rail are always a possibility.
No comments:
Post a Comment