Mike Boatwright's post on the trip to Craney, which I enjoyed vicariously,
jogged my memory that I have three records of King Rail, both from the SW
corner
of the island (where Clapper Rail breeds in most years) on the river marshes,
two in May, one in August. I remember one even sitting out in company with a
Clapper, long enough so that Tom Gwynn and I could study them together in the
scopes! That was probably 1982/83 (it's in the notebooks somewhere). King
Rails tend to favor fresh/brackish habitats, while Clappers stick to
saltmarshes, but this marsh could conceivably hold both species as nesters, as
happens
in a number of locations considered 'brackish' in the East. Away from
southeasternmost Virginia Beach, I don't know of any regular nesting areas for
King
Rail in e. Virginia, and I've only seen one in Northampton County (and none on
the CBBT, where Clappers are common).
Norfolk and Portsmouth are fascinating cities ornithologically - even though
most habitat is 'developed' in these cities, historical bird records stretch
back a long way, and the whole area begs for a good monograph on this history
of bird distribution here. Who would have guessed that Sandbridge Beach 50-60
years ago held huge colonies of terns and skimmers? Or that the area had lots
of nesting Henslow's Sparrows along the fringes of Back Bay, just 40 years
ago? Or that Bewick's Wrens were fairly common in Norfolk in the nineteenth
century? So many great projects, so little time.
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
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