I have been in contact with eBird, and the consensus is that this small population of birds is in fact a Ridgway's Rail, have been split off from the Clapper with the 55th AOU supplement. I actually saw my first RIDGWAY'S Rail a couple of weeks ago in this same location, but only got a marginally decent image. I tend to get a bit obsessive about getting a publishable image, something I can use in one of my stories...so, after several hours waiting, a lovely young couple wandered out into the open for me. This female was not only in the open, but less than 15 feet away, and..in the sunshine!!
