Bringing Back the Ridgway’s Rail-and its Habitat

Call someone “thin as a rail” and what are you really saying? Thin as a bed rail?  As a train rail?  A chair rail? None of the above, actually.  The phrase refers to a family of birds called “rails” that tend to frequent marshes. One rail local to San Diego County has gained modest renown…

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Ridgways Rail Release Updates from October 2016

Back in October, two more Ridgways Rails were released from the Buena Vista Audubon trail. Our team of monitors kept tabs on them for about three weeks. About 10 days into the monitoring, the Rails appeared to be stationary; i.e., there was no change in location as measured by the radio transceiver. Monitoring continued for…

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Ridgways’ Rail Release at Buena Vista Lagoon

There was an exciting morning at the BVAS Nature Center October 5 as we gathered to place transmitters on two Ridgway’s rails prior to releasing them into the Buena Vista Lagoon. It’s wonderful to have the chance to see these beautiful young birds up close. The 8-week-old male and female rails were hatched at Sea…

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Ridgway’s Rail Surveying Project Updates and Conclusion

On the evening of August 14, the signal from Rail #3 was no longer heard. The survey was thus concluded. While we had now lost touch with all of our three Rails, our surveying helped demonstrate that the Buena Vista Lagoon provides the Ridgway’s rail’s basic needs for foraging opportunities and shelter.  We also believe that the…

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Citizen Science: Rail Release and Survey at Buena Vista Lagoon

A group of agency officials and BVAS members gathered along the Nature Center trail in early July to participate in the release of three endangered Ridgway’s Rails.  Each had a tiny radio transmitter affixed to its back. Upon release, the rails quickly disappeared into the cattails and the team tracked their movement by honing in…

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