Location Galveston Island State Park, Galveston, TX
I walked along the main road for some time, then turned right on another road. I suddenly saw a bird emerge from the tall grasses lining both sides of the road. I strongly suspected right away that it was a rail -- I had seen only one before, the King Rail at Prairie Oaks metro park -- and the behavior sure looked similar.
I spent a good 20 minutes in the area examining two of these rails as they ventured into the road many times, often crossing to the other side. They were calling almost constantly as well. I needed to make sure they weren't King Rails.
I got many excellent views of a fairly secretive bird, even watching their beaks open and shut as they made their clicking call notes.
I finally decided that they were Clappers for these reasons: 1) I was in a salt marsh (or at the very least, brackish, which I confirmed the next day with a local (my old friend Charlie S.) who assured me that Galveston island has no fresh water), 2) one made the grunt-chip call like a Clapper and unlike the King, and 3) the bird overall was duller than what you would expect to see on a King.
No comments:
Post a Comment