Idaho Bird Records Committee Rarities Report Form
Species: Yellow Rail
Reporter: Cliff Weisse, 4125 Beaver Springs Rd., Island Park, ID 83429, 208-558-7789, cliffandlisa@octobersetters.com
Other Observers: Many observers heard this bird during its stay including Darren Clark, Mark Delwiche, Dale Miller, Chuck Trost, Jay Carlisle, and Craig Fosdick.
Date of Observation: 7/22/2005 / The bird was heard by others until at least 7/25/2005
Date Report Prepared: 12/7/2008
Locality of Observation: Market Lake WMA
Habitat: Marsh. I walked around the area where the bird was singing the next morning and there was definitely a sedge present. It was triangular in cross-section but it's beyond my ability to identify the species.
Conditions: Calm/no wind but I don't remember anything else. I know there wasn't any problem hearing that night.
Did you take notes? I may have taken notes during the observation but it may have been the next day - it was a long time ago.
Did you consult a field guide or other reference work? I listened to a recording of Yellow Rail (Peterson's Western Region) and played the recording during the "observation" hoping the bird would approach. It didn't seem to respond and I didn't keep playing the recording for long.
Description: Transcript of field notes:
Singing/calling at Market Lake from 2:15 through at leasst 4:20 am. Repetetive series of clicking notes consisting of two and three note phrases. Usually tick-tick..tick-tick-tick repeated over and over. There were several short breaks, less than one minute, in the calling until about 2:55. The bird sang a few phrases every five or ten minutes until about 4:00, then began calling more frequently but not as persistently as it did before 2:55.
>>>>>>>end of notes>>>>>>>>
What I can recall now is that the bird sounded as expected and called persistently for most of the night.
Behavior: No behavior was noted other than the singing/caling described above.
How and when did you positively identify the bird, and what clinched the identification for you? The bird was found by Mark Delwiche earlier in the night. When I arrived another birder was present so I knew where to stop. When I got out the bird was calling and I immediately recognized the song/call.
How did you eliminate similar species, and what were they?The cadence of the song phrases, tick-tick..tick-tick-tick, is distinctive and diagnostic for Yellow Rail.
Experience with this species: None
General experience birding: 11 years at the time of observation
Were photo(s), video, and/or audio obtained by you? no