Date: 7/6/26 6:17 pm From: Robert Ross <plumisl...> Subject: [MASSBIRD] Rail Summer
Welcome back, Massbirders! (Thanks, Haynes, for alerting me and all).
Though the species has been heard in the Great Marsh for several years, few have seen a king rail on or near Plum Island. This summer changed that result.
A king rail has been hanging around the maintenance area, which those-in-the-know call The Wardens, for well over a month now. Many have seen, photographed, and reported it. The bird has been very cooperative and seems not to mind a throng of photographers nearby.
It has been seen out in the open, moving from the small sound inlet behind the pines at the back of the area, to the small, isolated interior pond near the large storage shed. To get there, it has to cross a gavel patch, and it's on this patch where several lucky birders have seen it in a rare view for this species.
It struts down the dike path, too. It does not seem to be in a hurry to get away from view. It calls continuously, creating fascination and wonder over whether it has a mate, which seems more and more unlikely. As of this writing, it is still being reported.
Adding to this wonderful rarity, many have also reported hearing a clapper rail somewhere near the kayak launch, right near the Refuge entrance gate. Many more have reported hearing it than have reported seeing it, but a lucky few have posted photos.
Though it is apparently controversial to report a bird only heard on an eBird checklist, or to report only because it is picked up by Merlin, it's not my place to judge. I, too, have a rail I have only heard.
For three years now, Merlin has consistently picked up a Virginia rail in a small wetland across from my house. The call comes early in the AM, between 6-7 AM, though it might start earlier. The app does not pick it up often after seven.
I have never spotted the bird. The wetland is packed with phragmites, and by mid-summer, small bushes and bordering trees almost hide it from the road. It is on a busy street. There is no way to get up high enough to look into the wetland, and even if possible, there's still the issue of the dense reeds.
But this is something I love about Merlin. There's a Virginia Rail somewhere within a stone's throw of my house. I might be the only one who knows. It's been coming back to this spot for years now. I assume it is doing so because it has had a successful brood. There are two rivers within a short walk, and both offer substantial wetlands, so rails may be well established. And, of course, there's no guarantee the rail Merlin has been picking up for these years is the same bird.
I have learned to distinguish the Virginia rail's calls from a clapper or a king rail. I no longer rely only on Merlin, and I often hear the bird without using the app to confirm it.
I do, though, like the idea the rail is near. I like it nesting so close. If I never see it, I won't be disappointed. This feels right--that I would hear it but never see it, for a rail.
Virginia rails are not rare on Plum Island. I can't say for sure they are rare in Newbury, either. Clappers appear more so, and though I have heard one more than once near the headwaters of the Parker River, I am waiting to see one first before reporting it. No luck yet, though I have a much better chance of seeing one if it is near the river, as the view is wide and accessible.
For now, though, I am enjoying getting up early, grabbing a cup of tea, and letting the dogs run around in the front yard as I listen for the rail across the road. It's probably never seen me, either.
