In Pullman, Washington where my daughter lives, there is a bike path that goes
along a narrow patch of cattails – maybe 5-6 feet wide and 100 feet long. At
one point it widens to a patch about 15 feet square. I had 5 calling Virginia
Rails in that patch last summer, right in the middle of a subdivision.
Tom Crabtree, Bend
From: obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of ;
Lars Norgren
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2016 2:01 AM
To: Robert O'Brien
Cc: jeff17_marks@xxxxxxx; obol
Subject: [obol] Re: Virginia Rails at Crystal Springs, PDX
The species will use amazingly small and isolated pieces of habitat. I have
encountered wintering birds in wetlands no bigger than a living room, a few
hundred square feet. Lars
On Mon, Mar 7, 2016 at 11:10 PM, Robert O'Brien <baro@xxxxxxx> wrote:
I have a 1-2 acre swamp on my place near Carver OR and Virginia Rails
both winter and nest there. You almost never year them & surely never see them,
although their black little chicks were much in evidence one spring/summer.
But playing a tape can usually lure them into responding.
I've been to Westmoreland many times, but never played a tape and neither saw
nor heard them.
Bob OBrien
On Mon, Mar 7, 2016 at 9:10 PM, Jeff <jeff17_marks@xxxxxxx> wrote:
On Saturday afternoon, 5 March, I was surprised to hear a Virginia Rail giving
the kidick kidick call from the emergent irises and cattails at the very south
end of the foot path, where it curves back around toward the entrance (a fairly
new beaver dam is < 25 m east of the spot, and the green from a par 3 hole is
across the water less than 50 m away, a little wedge punch shot). I got out my
phone and did a quick playback, and the bird answered, as did another nearby,
which gave some grunts. Then they duetted. A mated pair, I suspect.
Don't know if this is unusual, but it's a first for me in 9 years of visiting
the place. Granted, I've never played any rail calls there before. If anyone
has a comment on the presence of rails there I'd love to hear about it.
Jeff Marks
SE PDX
