Adult Virginia Rail
I saw my first Virginia Rail in March, 2012. I was walking through the bog area on the Rockfish Valley Trail when the rail and I startled each other. I got a good, but very quick look at it as it flew away, and I could not re-locate it. It has bugged me ever since that I didn't react quickly enough to get a photo of it. In January, 2015, I was fairly sure that one of the rails I photographed in the Charleston, South Carolina area was a Virginia Rail, but all of the other rails I saw there were Clapper Rails. The one that I am fairly certain was a Virginia Rail was in a marshy area that was known to have Virginia Rails, and several rails were calling in the reeds that sounded like Virginia Rails. But the one that I saw and photographed was so muddy that it was hard to tell whether or not it was a Virginia Rail or a Clapper Rail, although it had a reddish-orange bill, so I think that it was a Virginia Rail (photos of it on my wildlife photo pages). I really wanted to photograph a Virginia Rail that was clearly this species.
I read that two adult and two or three juvenile Virginia Rails were seen two days ago at the Nazarenne Wetlands west of Bridgewater, Virginia. I had been there on July 6 when I saw a photographed an adult and a juvenile Sora. It's an hour drive each way from where I live, and I had an afternoon appointment in Crozet, but I wanted to get that definite Virginia Rail photo that has bugged me for four years. I felt confident that Virginia Rails would still be there beciuse of the juveniles, but could I find them? So I made a morning drive to Nazarenne Wetlands. As soon as I parked my car on the south side of Nazarenne Church Road and opened my car door, I saw two black fuzz balls scamper from the wet area on the other side of the road and into the dense vegetation. They might have been the juvenile Soras, or perhaps the juvenile Virginia Rails, but either way, I knew that at least one of these two secretive species was in the marsh near to where I had parked.
I waited a few minutes, and then, success!
Adult Virginia Rail
Adult Virginia Rail
Adult Virginia Rail
Adult Virginia Rail
A few minutes later, and about 20 feet closer to Lambert Town Road, I spotted one of the adult Soras.
Adult Sora
Adult Sora
Adult Sora
I stayed for a little while longer. Although I saw a few movements in the dense vegetation, heard one Virginia Rail grunt call, and one Sora whinney call, I didn't get a good view of either bird again. There were other species at the wetlands: Wood Ducks, Red-winged Blackbirds, Turkey Vultures, Swallows, House Sparrows, plus others, but I had my target bird photo and needed to head for home.
Wood Ducks
Juvenile Wood Duck
Female House Sparrow
Male House Sparrow
Male House Sparrow