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Miami Area: King Rail? (1 Viewer)

njlarsen

njlarsen

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I was looking at Ebird for this species near Miami. It seems to me that there has not been any reports of a bird during June near Miami during the last couple of years? Is that because they are absent or underreported?

I expect to be birding in Miami next weekend.

Niels
 
Hi Niels.

They are an under-reported resident species. They are regular at sites along Tamiami Trail and in Everglades NP.
 
Carlos, any more specific info? I hope we will get to Everglades, more doubtful regarding Tamiami this time.

Niels
 
Niels,

The Everglades/Tamiami Trail are only a 30-40 minute drive away from Miami.

As you know, hearing rails is not very difficult. Show up at dawn at most any wetland site along Tamiami Trail such as Shark Valley or in the Everglades such as Anhinga Trail, and you stand a pretty good chance of hearing them. However, you will not see these rails without the use of tape -- and you are not allowed to use tape inside the national park. Even when you can, you will have to find a site with vegetation structure open enough so that the bird can walk into view but still feel reasonably secure once you lure it in.

Hope this helps,
 
Thanks Carlos. As it turned out, I only got out one day, and we had chosen Everglades. We were probably slightly later than needed to really hear the rail: the route I ended up driving was slower than I expected. I had one possible audio from the car when we arrived, but nothing where we really could hear anything.

I was surprised by the dry conditions of the glades. I thought summer was when everything was supposed to be wet, but it was dryer than it was many years ago when we visited in mid winter.

Good numbers of Mitred Parakeet in S Dadeland was the only other remarkable obs, I think.

Niels
 
Hi Niels:

Yes, there are literally hundreds of Mitred Parakeets roosting in the Dadeland Mall area. The population has been steadily growing for over a decade.

That's a shame about the King Rail. You went to the Everglades right at the end of the dry season/start of the wet season, so water levels were probably at around their lowest. Water levels in the Everglades start to rise quickly as we move into July and August. It takes time for all the water falling in central Florida to trickle down.

Best wishes,

Carlos
 
csanchez7 said:
Hi Niels:

Yes, there are literally hundreds of Mitred Parakeets roosting in the Dadeland Mall area. The population has been steadily growing for over a decade.

That's a shame about the King Rail. You went to the Everglades right at the end of the dry season/start of the wet season, so water levels were probably at around their lowest. Water levels in the Everglades start to rise quickly as we move into July and August. It takes time for all the water falling in central Florida to trickle down.

Best wishes,

Carlos
Click to expand...

Thanks Carlos.
Regarding the Rail, there has to be a reason to come back another time, right ;)

I was staying at Marriott Dadeland, so I could watch the parakeets from my room every day, even those otherwise devoted to work B :)

Based on your note here and my own experiences, I have added the below note to the Opus page on Everglades:
A note about water levels: rains increase in summer but it takes some time for the water that has fallen in central Florida to reach this area, so the park will often still be very dry at the end of June. Likewise, it may not really yet look dry in December.
Click to expand...

Does that look right?

thanks
Niels
 
Sounds pretty accurate to me, Niels. The onset of the rainy season usually varies from the first week of May to the last week of June (!). The end of the rainy season is more predictable -- end of October. There is still plenty of water in the park straight through December, but it really starts to dry up by January.

Carlos
 
Thank you both!

Dan, I remember Ding Darling fondly from many years ago, but did not get any rails there.

Niels
 
snowyowl said:
Ding Darling is a bit further from Miami but I got a King Rail there last Feb.
Click to expand...

Dan
The only large rail at Ding Darling should be Clapper Rail. Ding Darling is completely salt/brackish water, and King Rails are usually restricted to fresh water.

Andy
 
Both species would be lifers for me. Here's a picture of the bird in question. I made it to be juvie a King but looking back now, it is almost certainly a Clapper adult. Thanks for pointing this out to me.
 

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