Clapper Rail Chicks

I don't get started until the middle of the day. It feels warm at the house, but I go anyway. And, I am glad I did. Once I am in the canoe and down in the water, the heat of the day disappears. I head down river with a light fresh breeze on my face. It is sunny with tall cumulous about the horizon indicating that the weather service prediction of early evening thunderstorms might be accurate. 

On the way down river, I see a jet skier slowly circle a big floating object. I would've passed it assuming it to be driftwood, but now I have to go look. It's a dead beaver, most likely a casualty of the flash floods a week ago Sunday that were higher up in this drainage. Anyway, the beaver is a week dead and just about at the bursting point.

Low tide was about an hour ago, so there isn't too much current, yet. When I get to the top of the marsh, I head up Nell's channel. The Osprey are about, but my sight lines are short with the low water. I spot a pair of small Clapper Rails up one of the side inlets. Stopping to observe, a third comes into view. 

Clapper Rail Chick

These are young birds, small and dark gray with downy feathers. I continue down and spot another young Rail about 200 yards away. About another hundred yards, I spot an adult Clapper Rail, and then a second one on the opposite side of the channel. That's 4 Clapper Rails for my lat trip here, 6 on this one, and I go whole years without seeing any. Birds become more seen for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is the migration, or with some birds it's nesting. Some will show when the migrate in and then disappear until their young fledge, and then they're back where I can see them. It looks to me like my sightings are matching up with the end of Clapper Rail nesting. 

Dowitcher

I head down to Milford Point. I've gone just slow enough that there is enough water to paddle the circle route around the marsh. In the lower east corner, I spot three Black Bellied Plovers. I had hoped to see Clapper Rails, but I did not expect to see Plovers. 

I skim through the shallows and turn upriver along the wooded east shore. I spot a Dowitcher near Cat Island. Other birds for the day are several Snowy Egrets, a few Great Egrets, a few Yellow Croned Night Herons. I'm sure there are quite a few Night Herons out in the spartina, but with the low water, I can't see them.