By Roy Little
He is a native Light-footed Clapper Rail living in the Kendall-Frost Preserve in Pacific Beach, and she is a documented immigrant who arrived sometime in the middle of last year. After what some might call a whirlwind romance, they decided to raise a family in the marsh near my condo. The following are photographs taken from the balcony, documenting their activity from March to June. Typically, these birds have two broods annually, making for a relatively long breeding season.
Light-footed Clapper Rails are an endangered species both federally and in California. They live only in salt marshes where there is an adequate supply of cordgrass, and eat mainly crabs and snails. They are about the size of a small chicken and there are some 20 to 30 pairs in the combined Kendall-Frost and Northern Wildlife Preserve, located south of Crown Point Drive and connected to Mission Bay. In this marsh the cordgrass is somewhat under-nourished so artificial nests have been built for the rails. That being said, this pair ignored the artificial nests and raised their first brood of at least four in the detritus near the marsh edge. Three chicks have survived so far.
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An example of the banding process in the marsh just before release. This was the second group of seven released in 2013. Picture taken November 2013. -
The male Light-footed Clapper Rail in the creek. Note the small white spot on his head and no bands on his legs. Picture taken in March. -
The female after a cold saltwater bath in the creek. It appears that twice daily bathing is normal. Picture taken in April. -
The pair, the male in front, in the wrack near the proposed nest. Picture taken in April. -
The pair, the male in front, in the creek. Picture taken in April. -
The male strutting in the creek. Picture taken in April. -
The female Light-footed Clapper Rail in the creek. Note the two silver bands. According to Dick Zembal, head of the Clapper Rail Project, the two silver bands and numbers indicate that this bird was released in June 2013. Picture taken in April. -
The parents with one chick. Picture taken in May. -
One chick in the creek. Picture taken in May. -
One chick in the creek. Note the relatively large feet. Picture taken in May. -
The male vocalizing. Picture taken in May. -
The female with one chick. Picture taken in May. -
The female with food for one chick. Picture taken in May. -
Two chicks with color changing from black to grey. Picture taken in June.
All photos by Roy Little.
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What a beautiful story, and even more gorgeous pictures! Roy you truly have talent – thanks for spreading the word about clapper rails and how they live literally right in our backyards!
Beautiful photos. A touching story about our ornithological friends and their interesting lives!
Thanks for spreading awareness about these birds. We must not let them become another of the 200 species going extinct daily.
What are the forces contributing to their endangerment? How do we stop these forces? What do the Light-footed Clapper Rails want us to do about these forces?
The main thing Clapper rails need is more marsh. It has to be salt-water and healthy so cordgrass grows well. The present Kendall-Frost/Northern Wildlife preserve is surrounded by developments of various kinds and disconnected from Rose Creek. It is part owned by University of California and part by the City of San Diego. A study of potentially expanding the marsh to the east will start this year. The public needs to become educated in this topic so that informed opinions of alternative uses of the land can be discussed and decided.
Thanks to the efforts of these dedicated people at the Kendall-Frost marsh, the San Diego Audubon society has received a grant from the California coastal conservancy to study the expansion of this marshland. Onward marsh!
Wonderful article.