Following up again, the consensus is that this is indeed a King Rail, and has been confirmed now by at least 15 birders. It's still here, slowly making laps around the house. Feel free to stop by -- I'll post again when it appears to be gone.
The house is 385 W 3rd St, Zumbrota, MN 55992, on the corner of Mill St and W 3rd St. It's the only house in the area with a white fence on the roof (and at present, a dozen birders around it). We're about an hour from the cities, 25 minutes from Rochester, and 15 minutes from Cannon Falls. Thanks! Elijah Parker On Tue, May 27, 2014 at 3:07 PM, Al Schirmacher <alschirmac...@live.com>wrote: > Just a sliver more information - King Rail has also been seen within the > last ten years at Horicon Marsh - central Wisconsin. > > (I was only one of many who saw it on the Marsh Road) > > Al Schirmacher > Muscotah, KS > (formerly Princeton, MN) > > > Date: Tue, 27 May 2014 15:02:38 -0500 > > From: ecker...@gmail.com > > Subject: Re: [mou-net] Rail sighting (photos) in Zumbrota (Goodhue > County) > > To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU > > > > Hi all - > > > > The bird in Elijah's yard in Zumbrota is not a Virginia Rail, unless the > images are completely misleading. Among other things, the bill appears too > large and is not red enough, the amount of gray in the cheeks is too > limited, and the legs too dull. What I cannot necessarily rule out, > however, is the possibility of this being a Gulf Coast Clapper Rail, which > closely resembles a King Rail and has been recorded at least as far north > as Nebraska. King Rail, of course, would be more likely in MN since it > formerly bred in the state, although the most recent confirmed record was > over 20 years ago. This rail should definitely be checked out and > documented by others, and my compliments to Elijah and his wife for their > nice images and for getting the news out so promptly. > > > > > > Kim R Eckert, Duluth > > http://www.mbwbirds.com > > > > > > > > On May 27, 2014, at 1:48 PM, Elijah Parker wrote: > > > > Several people have suggested that it's a Virginia Rail, which I really > > should more seriously considered earlier (I had originally dismissed it > due > > to the coloring -- most depictions of the Virginia Rail have > significantly > > stronger coloring on the bill and eye, the the part where the wing > overlaps > > the tail seems different). > > > > Upon further research, the main difference seems to be the size. As for > > size, this bird is definitely bigger than a Blue Jay, but necessarily as > > large as a Crow. > > > > I don't want to mislead anyone into thinking it's something it's not -- > so > > please keep in mind I am not familiar with Rails and didn't realize how > > significant a King Rail would be. > > > > Still, to me, a King Rail seems most likely (when the significance is not > > considered). > > > > It's still here if anyone wants to check it out. 385 W 3rd St, Zumbrota, > MN > > 55992. Call my cell for updates if you're heading this way: > 612-492-1010. > > > > Any other advice is appreciated. > > > > Thanks! > > > > Elijah > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Tue, May 27, 2014 at 1:36 PM, Hoeger-Lerdal <p...@mchsi.com> wrote: > > > > > how big was it? Virginia Rail is the default rail like this in MN---but > > > they are much smaller, more like blue jay size. > > > King Rail is like Crow size? > > > > > > > > > > > > On May 27, 2014, at 1:04 PM, Elijah Parker wrote: > > > > > >> My wife just spotted it in our garden! Here are some photos: > > >> > > > > https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152109521456074.1073741826.728076073&type=1&l=f165b92d5a > > >> > > >> It was seen at 11:30am in our yard in Zumbrota at the corner of West > 3rd > > >> Street and Mill > > >> > > >> I'm assuming it would be a King Rail, but in some ways it looks a > little > > >> more like a Gulf Coast Clapper Rail. Can anyone confirm? > > >> > > >> Thanks! > > >> > > >> Elijah Parker > > >> > > >> ---- > > >> Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > > >> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > > > > > > > > > ---- > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > > > > > ---- > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > -- *Timelapse+ | m...@timelapseplus.com <m...@timelapseplus.com> | www.timelapseplus.com <http://www.timelapseplus.com>* ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
