April 13 2019. Shell Park Oakville, ON. Most birding days deliver sightings that fall within the spectrum of the reasonably expected. There are surprises, delights and notable sightings often enough and they are the grist to the mill for this My Bird of the Day site. But today, together with a group of beginner birders, we saw (quite clearly) a Virginia Rail which does not fall within that spectrum, or anywhere close.
I was the co-leader of a group of beginner birders and we were enjoying learning from each other. It sometimes takes a person pointing out and discussing something curious or intriguing, like today’s Golden-crowned Kinglets, Northern Flickers or Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, to gain a toehold on the road to a consuming interest. We happily shared sightings and discussed the biology of Brown-headed Cowbirds, the differences between a Downy and a Hairy Woodpecker and why sapsuckers and flickers aren’t called woodpeckers when they clearly should be.
By the time we stumbled upon our Bird of the Day we had a list of about twenty-five birds for the morning. It included Blue Jays, Common Grackles, Turkey Vultures, a couple of Sharp-shinned Hawks and a newly arrived Chipping Sparrow. A Common Raven was on the list too, although only I heard it and no-one saw it, so it hardly counted for most of the group.
We saw our Virginia Rail in the most improbable of places. They belong in freshwater marshes where they stalk around secretively among Cattail stalks and other aquatic vegetation. But ours flew low over a manicured strip of grass covering a large pipeline easement, moving from one narrow strip of trees to land in the dense under-scrub of a cedar hedge behind a couple of suburban back yards. There were no wetlands of any kind anywhere nearby.
We watched it disappear and hurry out of sight. My companion leader and I shared first impressions, my semi-serious thought was Norway Rat, while she said it’s a crake, (I thought she’d taken leave of her senses). But it was a bird: dark, small yet chunky, and a weak flier; and Lyn was right, it was a crake, not strictly but close enough phylogenetically. With a bit of effort, we were able to see it quite well and identify it as a Virginia Rail. I have only two photos of a Virginia Rail, both chicks, one of which was killed by a car so, neither adds anything to this account.
It was one of those moments where the absurdity and excitement merged to leave me almost speechless. The beginner group was certainly drawn to the bird and its evident notability and I hope most will be compelled to do some follow-up research. I could only shake my head and step back to give the bird room. The homeowners who were drawn outdoors by the sight of twenty pairs of binoculars staring at them seemed to catch on to our excitement but were probably left quite baffled.
For a bit of clarification and context, nearly a year ago I posted here about the Clapper Rails we met on Cape May, New Jersey. The Virginia Rail looks and behaves much like a Clapper, but is one-third of the size and favours freshwater not tidal saltmarshes. So, although this one below is a Clapper Rail, it is something like what we saw. Absurd.
