Visited the Preston Rd. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron from 4:10-4:30pm this afternoon.  A bird sat tight in the nest the whole time I was there, so I assume she is on eggs. I was sad to find only the one active nest, though.  By the way, if you travel any distance - like from Cleveland or Cincinnati - to see these birds, Joe Blundo from the Columbus Dispatch would like to interview you.  His e-mail is: [log in to unmask]

I then went to Battelle-Darby wetlands (DON'T even think about driving I-70 from east to west during rush hour) where I got lots of good birds, many FOY for me, including American Bittern - 1 flyover, and another calling (my first time hearing one in the field), 1 Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Dunlin, Least Sandpipers, 1 Spotted Sandpiper, and 1 Willet.  Also, Horned Larks, Savannah and Vesper Sparrows, and lots and lots of Grasshopper Sparrows. No phalaropes of any flavor, no Little Blue Heron.

Here's where it gets interesting.  The woman I was birding with, Debbie (no last name) and I both heard a steady, rhythmic, almost "woody" ticking sound in the marsh, among the cattails and reeds of the largest pond.  A local male birder we ran into (I didn't get his name at all) heard it too, and independently came to the same conclusion I did:  King Rail.

It was definitely rail-like, but not Sora, Yellow, or Black.  (I discount Clapper entirely based on range.)  I suppose it could have been an odd Virginia, but I think of that bird as calling in pairs, with a pause in between ("tick-tick", rest, "tick-tick", rest) and this was steady and even.  Don't know what else it could be, don't know whether or not I should count it or eBird it, but thought I would toss it out there for others to be aware of and listen for.  

Good birding!

Kathi Hutton
based in Clermont, reporting from Franklin today

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