I looked for the Little Blue Heron reported from last Sunday along the Green Ribbon Trail but without success. However, as I got back to the car I heard a rail grunting from the marsh at the bottom of the nearby wooded slope. I heard it several more times and clambored down the slope to try and see it but could not find it. It sounded quite a bit like a KING RAIL to me. Though I cannot be certain, due in part to the nearby traffic noise, I do have some experience with the species. Last spring I first heard and tentatively identified and finally was able to visually confirm a King Rail in Ohio. This bird sounded much deeper, less pig-like, and without the descending ending that a Virginia Rail usually gives.
Directions: At the Green Ribbon Trail Park in St. Catharines, Ont.: >From the west, take the QEW to the 406 and take the Fourth Avenue Exit. Turn east at the exit and head straight until you hit Martindale Road, the first upcoming light. Turn north onto Martindale Road and continue on for a few kilometers until you cross the QEW and you start to see Lake Ontario/Henley Pond on your right. The Green Ribbon Trail park is on the left hand side as you come down the slope and there is parking there (but not much). From the east take the QEW to the Martindale Road exit. Turn north onto Martindale Rd and the park will come up shortly on your left. Good birding! Willie ---------- Willie D'Anna Betsy Potter Wilson, NY dannapotterATwzrd.com http://www.betsypottersart.com
