We enjoy hearing and (rarely) seeing Virginia Rails. In late July at our Wildland property near Rio, we had an extended look at this secretive bird.
The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s All About Birds provides a good description of the Virginia Rail: “a chickenlike marsh bird with a long, heavy bill and a short, upturned tail. Head on, the Virginia Rail looks thin, but from the side they look rather full-bodied.”
Virginia Rail (photo by Arlene Koziol)
Southern and central Columbia County received between 25 to 30 inches of rain in the past three months. The change in wetlands was dramatic. Goose Pond was dry on May 1 and by July 10 the west pond was four feet deep. It was amazing to see marsh birds arrive at Goose Pond in late June and July as water levels rose. Rails usually call at dusk and dawn, however Virginia Rails were heard calling from the east pond during the day and from the west pond during the frog count the night of July 10. eBird reports from July also documented Ruddy Ducks, Pied-billed Grebes, Soras, Common Gallinules, American Coots, Wilson’s Phalaropes, Black Terns, and Marsh Wrens, in addition to Solitary, Stilt, Least, and Pectoral Sandpipers.
Virginia Rails nest at Goose Pond when adjacent wetlands are flooded. In spring, they form monogamous pairs during the breeding season and vigorously defend their territories with grunting duets. They like to forage in shallow water areas with emergent vegetation and in mudflats where they search for snails, invertebrates, small fish, crayfish, and frogs. Rails usually fly less than 40 yards during the breeding season; however, they fly very long distances during migration.
Virginia Rail range map (courtesy of All About Birds).
During the Breeding Bird Atlas II (2015–2019), volunteers canoeing had the best success in confirming nesting rails. In the 18 priority Columbia County atlas blocks, Virginia Rails were confirmed or probable in six blocks. At Goose Pond, young were confirmed in 2018 and 2019. At our Wildland property, we heard 11 Virginia Rails calling one evening.
In May 2022, a Virginia Rail pinged our Motus Tower. The bird was banded in central Illinois by The Nature Conservancy and after passing through our area, the next tower it pinged was at Oak Hammock Marsh north of Winnipeg, Manitoba—about 600 miles northwest.
According to All About Birds, “Virginia Rails are common throughout their range. . . . between 1966 and 2015 overall populations appear to have been stable, but the birds’ secretive nature makes evaluating their abundance problematic.”
If you would like to search for rails, the best location is the Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, which has two areas for vehicles and areas to bike and hike.
Written by Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, Goose Pond Sanctuary resident managers
Cover image by Arlene Koziol. A Virginia Rail sneaks through shallow water in an area with lots of wetland vegetation.
