Lately, I've been a little remiss in walking around the 100 Mile Marsh so this morning I made a circuit just to see what all the birds are doing. Usually I walk around the marsh beside the airport road in order to quickly leave the noise of Highway 97 behind but this time I decided on the spur of the moment to stroll the highway side first.

As expected traffic was loud but with the sun shining it didn't seem overwhelming. No sooner did I step from behind the information kiosk and look down the path when I saw a gray rotund bird moving out of the grass on the highway shoulder. It crossed the path and entered the greenery on the marsh side of the pathway. Was it a Sora Rail?

I walked slowly forward. A flock of juvenile Red-winged Blackbirds with attendant adults stood in the same spot as the mystery bird and raised a clamor as I approached. This definitely would not help my stealthy approach! I drew near and glimpsed the mystery bird popping in and out of sight as it moved towards deeper cover, then finally vanished into the safety of the impenetrable grass.

I walked past the spot a bit and looked back. Suddenly the fat gray bird was back on the path and heading toward the highway shoulder. This time my view was unobstructed, and it was indeed a Sora Rail. These furtive lurkers most often make it onto my birding lists after I hear their call, and rarely by sight. As is their wont, I only glimpsed the bird for three seconds before it scooted out of sight.

Thinking this might be my day to cross paths with Rails I tiptoed to the edge of the marsh grass and peered along the margin of the water. I was surprised to see a black marshmallow-sized fuzz ball peering back at me. This little ball of fuzz stood still long enough for me to make out that it had a tiny pale beak and was indeed a bird. Then I saw another and another. They had to be baby Rails. As if to prove it, they quickly all slipped into the tall grass and were gone.

I wondered if these might be baby Sora Rails but the bird I'd seen was some distance away to be shepherding this bunch. I had just trotted those thoughts across my mind when, to my left, a reddish bird scampered into the open. It was a Virginia Rail. I pulled up my binoculars to study it as it stood for a moment but my close focus is not close at all so I stepped back to clear the image. The Rail redoubled its pace and quickly made the edge of the tall grass. I thought our sudden meeting frightened the bird and it would soon plunge out of sight. Instead it stopped to eat something on the ground and I watched it at my leisure. No doubt, this was the parent of the three black fuzzy chicks.

The rest of the walk around the marsh was rather uneventful.

After I completed the rest of the marsh circuit I went to the bird sighting board behind the visitors information centre and wrote that I spotted the Virginia and Sora Rails in plain sight right beside the highway. I'm sure another birder would enjoy a similar close encounter with two of the most elusive marsh birds.