King Rail

 

  I was driving down I-95 on Saturday morning to meet my friend Louise to do some birding in Tiverton. I got an alert that my friend Sue Palmer had just found a King Rail at Trustom Pond. I felt I had to go see if I could find that bird. King Rail wouldn't actually be a lifer for me because I heard one on my trip to Washington DC when I visited Blackwater NWR. However, there is a big difference from hearing and seeing (with the possibility of a photo?). The wet area at Trustom is pretty small and I knew there was a decent chance of seeing it. It would still be a state bird and I was really excited of the possibility of seeing one. I called Louise up and we changed our plans. We met at the junction of Rt 1@138 and drove to Trustom. 

   King Rails along with most species in their family like to hide in thick swampy vegetation. They are really hard to get a photo of. Because they are nearly impossible to see, most people count a rail they hear for their list. Seeing them is hard enough so getting a photo was a dream I never expected to come true.

   It did not take long to see it though. My friend Linda (many of my friends were there, so bear with me) saw it cross the path. So a few of us went down the Red Maple Trail and waited on the bridge. We saw it behind a huge uprooted stump and some skunk cabbage. Of the four of us, I had the worst angle but I did get to see it but no photo. 

The Rail decided to head back upstream so we went back up to the main path. Linda again saw the rail and called my name. It was walking across the road. I snapped two pictures. The photos were blurry but you could ID the bird (Life photo!). 

   We then found it two more times walking and feeding around the little swampy pond. Those two times I got some decent photos. The King Rail did not mind our presence at all and kept feeding. Seeing such an amazing bird feeding along the edge of the pond and letting us photograph it was amazing. I've gotten four state birds in Rhode Island this year, two of them lifers, the King Rail was my favorite experience of them all.