King Rail at Blackwater NWR.

Some days you wonder why a grown man would wander around in the heat, the mud and the bugs looking for birds who don’t give a damn about you. Other days, however, make you wonder why everyone isn’t doing it.

Today was a good one. The King Rail is a life bird for me;in 6 years of frequent jaunts into the marsh I haven’t seen one, or even come close, yet two crossed my path and posed nicely this morning.

In addition, several nice birds and a couple of mammals took advantage of the very nice weather to be out in front of my lens  and made my day several times over.

Blackwater Dawn 47

Blackwater Dawn.

Ruby Throated Hummingbird 2018-9 Ruby Throated Hummingbird 2018-8 Ruby Throated Hummingbird 2018-7 Ruby Throated Hummingbird 2018-5 Ruby Throated Hummingbird 2018-6 Ruby Throated Hummingbird 2018-4 Ruby Throated Hummingbird 2018-3

Ruby Throated Hummingbird 2018-2

Ruby Throated Hummingbirds were very active today.

Purple Martin 2018-20 Purple Martin 2018-19 Purple Martin 2018-18 Purple Martin 2018-17 Purple Martin 2018-16 Purple Martin 2018-15 Purple Martin 2018-14 Purple Martin 2018-13

Purple Martin 2018-12

The Purple Martin Colony at Blackwater is thriving.

 

Red Headed Woodpecker 2018-9

Red Headed Woodpecker 2018-10

Red Headed Woodpecker 2018-8

Red Headed Woodpeckers were easy to find today.

 

Osprey 2018-20

I was surprised to see these Ospreys mating so late in the season.

 

Osprey 2018-21

These Ospreys were feeding at least one chick.

 

Catbird 2018-3

A lone Catbird was singing at the visitor center.

Carolina Wren 2018-2

A Carolina Wren was singing also.

Great Egret 2018-18

Only a few Great Egrets were present.

Bald Eagle 2018-45

Bald Eagle 2018-46

Several Bald Eagles were foraging in the marsh.

Turkey Vulture 2018-2

I don’t often see Turkey vultures drying their wings on the ground.

 

Eastern Kingbird 2018-11

Eastern Kingbirds were flycatching along the drive.

Orchard Oriole 2018-9

You’ll usually hear an Orchard Oriole before you see him.

Red Winged Blackbird 2018-17

This Red Winged Blackbird has found a nice bug.

King Rail 2018-5 King Rail 2018-4 King Rail 2018-3 King Rail 2018-2 King Rail 2018-1

King Rail 2018-6

The secretive King Rail is hard to photograph.

Delmarva Fox Squirrel 32

It’s not always easy to photograph a Delmarva Fox Squirrel.

Fox 100

This Fox was hanging out at the visitor center.

 

 

5 thoughts on “King Rail at Blackwater NWR.

  1. Fantastic sightings and fabulous shots! That hummingbird! Red-headed WP! And that rail!! Booyah!!!

  2. Wow Hugh you outdid yourself here. These are fantastic! Talk about being in the right place at the right time. So there is why we have to do it so often. You just never know what it going to happen with nature. Congrats on the sighting and photos of those King Rail. Mammals are great too, not to mention that beauty of a sunrise. My personal fav the red headed woodpeckers. Just love.

  3. Beautiful captures of a wonderful variety. The King Rail images are fabulous, congrats on the added lifer! If you don’t mind me asking, where did you sight them at the refuge? It’d be a lifer for me too. 😉

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