a not-so-elusive rail

[squirl033]

took advantage of a beautiful, clear, but very cold day (27F was the high), and stopped off at my favorite park down in Kirkland on the way to a frame shop to get a couple of prints framed. it was pretty quiet... the lagoon was frozen over, which kept a lot of the teals and such out, and i suspect some were just hunkered down somewhere trying to keep warm. anyway, i spotted this virginia rail at the edge of the lagoon, hunting for lunch. these guys are normally very shy and don't come out in the open often, but there were very few people around, and i don't think this little fella knew i was there... 7D, 100-400 @ 260mm, 1/800 @ f/8, -1EV. the last one's cropped a bit for compositional purposes...

 

[Bill Anderson]

Tremendous shots, and you only had to zoom out about half way.

I have not seen a rail at the Edmonds marsh this year. I saw a few in 2012, but they did not pose me like yours did.

 

[fiznatty]

Very cool, Rocky. I can't say I recall seeing one of these locally before.

Max

 

[JaniceL]

What a catch. A rare find indeed of these elusive guys.

 

[squirl033]

Very cool, Rocky. I can't say I recall seeing one of these locally before.

Max

thanks, Max... they're around, but often difficult to find. you can hear them a lot, especially in spring, in the marshy areas along lakes, but they seldom come out in the open like this. i got this one at Juanita Bay Park in Kirkland...

 

[squirl033]

What a catch. A rare find indeed of these elusive guys.

thanks, Janice... yes, they are indeed a rare find. very difficult to spot unless they come out in the open, which isn't very often!