Visiting Royalty

5/1/2026

Last week, a King Rail showed up at a small park (West Park) within a half hour drive of my house. King Rail is an uncommon bird for the state, and many welcomed the chance to see the bird. The rail was not shy, but, like all rails, it is a nervous bird. A lot of commotion or movement would flush the bird into cover. If you stood still, the bird would walk over your feet. The boardwalk at the park provided a nice compromise for the bird, and it would feed openly - unless the crowds grew a bit too big; pushing the bird into cover. Even then, the bird would wait until things calmed down and then come back into the open and resume feeding. It made for an incredibly easy chase. It has been a wonderful opportunity for a lot of birders to see this bird and see it well. For many, this may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

What makes this bird extra special is that it is not just uncommon here; it is increasingly uncommon everywhere. King Rail is classified as "near threatened". What this means is that the global population has suffered either a 10% decline in population or is below 10,000 individuals in the wild. According to Cornell, the King Rail is estimated to have lost 85% of its population since 1966. The usual factors for this decline are at play here; habitat loss being the key one.

Indiana is one of 12 states that lists the bird as endangered. Yet, the state continues to roll back wetland protections in order to build warehouses. On a national scale, the EPA is eliminating clean water protections. On a local scale, even though West Park is a small beautiful park in an affluent area, the amount of trash and broken fishing line/lures in the water is appalling. The bird faces many challenges along the route of its annual migration. Available, clean water should not be one of them.

So, yeah, it is a great bird, but it is a lot more special than many probably realized. Which makes it all the more understandable that I took several opportunities to get out and see this bird. It was fun to watch. The bird would run a circuit around the perimeter of the pond and then double-back. Tadpoles, small, frogs, and even baby turtles were eagerly gulped down. It has quite the buffet at this pond. The water was a little low, and the bird was able to wade in for easy access. The boardwalk sits a couple feet above the water. This is not ideal for photos, but you lay down and do the best you can. One evening, I found a spot where I could lay low and waited 15 minutes or so for the bird to slowly approach. It did not work quite as well as I had hoped. The bird chose to walk the bank instead of wading into the water. It slowly approached and then walked around me. I waited until it have moved on and then walked away from it. The bird could have hardly cared less. I will probably go look for the bird again; so, do not be surprised if I have more photos later. In the meantime, this is what I got.

King Rail

King Rail

King Rail

King Rail

King Rail

King Rail

King Rail

King Rail

King Rail

King Rail

While waiting around for the King Rail, I did manage some shots of the cute little Sora running around. I would have loved some shots of the Wilson's Snipe, too, but it was a lot shier than the other birds.

Sora

Sora

Sora

Sora

That is it for now. If you live close by, I hope you have had a chance to see this bird and have taken a moment to appreciate how special it is.

Thanks for reading,

Mike