Message:

[

Previous   Next

]

By Topic:

[

Previous   Next

]

Subject:

Re: Corn Crake

From:

"Gail B. Mackiernan %3Ckatahdinss%40comcast.net%3E"

Reply-To:

Gail B. Mackiernan %3Ckatahdinss%40comcast.net%3E

Date:

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 21:33:50 +0000

Corn Crake used to be a rare vagrant to North America but as populations in western Europe crashed due primarily to changes in farming practices (sound familiar?), such sightings ended -- until recently, when there's been a couple in Canada (I believe). There are serious restoration efforts going on for this species in the UK and populations on the western isles have rebounded significantly. They migrate from their African wintering grounds in late February into March, and arrive at breeding sites in April, per one source I checked. 

If this is a Corn Crake it would be bird of the decade in MD! 

Gail Mackiernan 
Colesville, MD 

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ross Geredien" <> 
To:  
Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2012 4:41:26 PM 
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Corn Crake 

Given the rarity of such a sighting, I wonder if the bird would be a captive/escaped bird (if the ID pans out)? The only record in eBird for North America is a 1900 record from Worcester County, whose provenance is still under investigation by the MOS Records committee. Thanks to Bill Hubick for entering this historical record. 

Rails in general are not known to stray across the Atlantic. 

Keep us posted. 

Ross 

Follow Me on Twitter 
@goodmigrations1 


________________________________ 
From: Mike Hudson <> 
To:  
Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2012 4:06 PM 
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Corn Crake 

I've seen Corn Crakes on both my trips to Europe and that description is fitting. The reddish wing patch would be great to clinch the ID, but honestly is not always conspicuous. In my opinion what stood out most on the birds I saw were the barred flanks and heavily streaked and spotted upperparts. 

The habitat which you're describing is also very appropriate. Especially since the first day you saw it the ground was fairly dry. The only native rail that would be expected in dry habitat is the Yellow Rail, which it seems you have ruled out. 

I seem to have misplaced the original email that you sent, where has this bird been sighted? I don't think I'll be able it go check it out, but it is possible. 

Mike H. 
Baltimore City 

-------------------------------------------------- 
From: "Steve Long" <> 
Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2012 3:57 PM 
To: <> 
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Corn Crake 

> Hi Ross, 
> 
> I am no expert on rails, and I am not working from my home. So, my 
> resources are limited here. The only other person that I know of who saw 
> the bird mentioned it to me this morning. She knew it was unusual, but is 
> not a birder, so all she could do is verify my estimate of its size. She 
> apparently saw it shortly after I did, so it must have walked back to the 
> ditch once I left the area. I looked for it again this morning, but did not 
> see it. The only functioning camera here is a pocket digital. Even if it I 
> see the bird again, unless it poses as close as I got to it yesterday, the 
> pictures would probably be marginal. However, I now know what filed marks I 
> really need to see (the "large rusty wing patch"). 
> 
> With respect to ruling-out other rails: It appeared to be too large to be a 
> Yellow Rail. It did not look in shape or color like any of the 
> illustrations of adult or immature Sora Rails in the bird books that are 
> available to me here. However, the illustrations of both the immature Sora 
> and the Crake are quite varied in the various bird books that my Mother has 
> here. And, so are the length figures. 
> 
> The bird that I saw was mostly a buffy color, with a very distinct but not 
> very high contrast pattern of darker centers and lighter borders on the back 
> feathers. The belly feathers were much paler, and the vertical streaking 
> near the back of the belly was very muted and more like buff-on-white than 
> black-on-buff or black-on-white. The beak was not a very noticeable color 
> or shape - pale tan and not shaped like a chicken's. There were no 
> distincitve eye stripes, head color patches or wing bars. Apparently, what 
> would have clinched the identification is the "large rusty wing patch" that 
> is shown conspicuously on all of the illustrations of a Crake and mentioned 
> in all of the write-ups. However, I did not know that when I happened upon 
> the bird, so I was not concentrating on evaluating that particular feature. 
> There was some solid tan/brown between the back pattern and the belly, but I 
> don't remember it being such an obvious red-rust color as depicted in the 
> book illustrations. 
> 
> If somebody could give me links to actual pictures of Crakes and immature 
> Soras, I might gain some more confidence about the identification. But, at 
> this point, the immature Sora is just a nagging doubt in my mind because I 
> don't really know what they can look like within their range of variability. 
> Dendroica dose not seem to have photos of Soras nor Crakes. 
> 
> One additional factor is the location of the sighting, 
> which is on the margin of a large agricultural field, a few hundred yards 
> from the nearest salt marsh. My understasnding is that Crakes prefer fields 
> and Soras prefer marshes. But, maybe not all of each species has "read that 
> book." 
> 
> Steve 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ross Geredien" <> 
> To: "Steve Long" <> 
> Cc: <> 
> Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2012 12:57 PM 
> Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Corn Crake 
> 
> 
>> Hi Steve and everyone, 
>> Corn Crake would truly be a mega-rarity. Do you have any additional 
>> documentation? Were all other rails ruled out? Has anyone else tried to 
>> verify this? 
>> 
>> Ross Geredien 
>> Edgewater 
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone 
> 
> ############################ 
> 
> To unsubscribe from the MDOSPREY list: 
> write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] 
> or click the following link: 
> http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MDOSPREY&A=1 
> 

############################ 

To unsubscribe from the MDOSPREY list: 
write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] 
or click the following link: 
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MDOSPREY&A=1 

############################ 

To unsubscribe from the MDOSPREY list: 
write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] 
or click the following link: 
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MDOSPREY&A=1 

############################

To unsubscribe from the MDOSPREY list:
write to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
or click the following link:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MDOSPREY&A=1