Jekyll Island! What a dreamy place! Ocean, wetlands, forests, mudflats, and endless biking trails–there is so much to appreciate about this island with its diverse nature and wildlife.
A sighting of the Clapper Rail is coveted, not because this wading bird is particularly beautiful but because of its elusive nature. These rails live in the thick, tall grasses that fill the vast wetland marsh areas on the island. You can hear them calling out to one another–a cacophony of sound–and not very melodic at that, their call is more like a screech! Yet despite their evident presence in the marsh, one may never make a sighting, as they are well hidden in the grasses, coming out to feed in the mud only during a lower tide. Clapper Rails eat anything bite-sized that moves, if they can catch it, they also pry open the oyster and clam shells that abound in the muddy marsh, as well as eat seeds in the winter. Here are photos of a Clapper eating a small crab…if you look closely, you can see the little crab legs.
We were lucky yesterday morning, on our last walkabout at Jekyll. After being awed by yet another amazing sunrise, we walked our usual path through the marsh area, hearing the Clappers calling but not sighting any. Until we did! This guy, for whatever reason, was out in the open so that John was able to make a short video of it foraging in the morning light. As it turns out, they are indeed beautiful with a blue hue in their feathers, brown streaks towards their hindquarters, a gold-colored chest feathers, a fun white tail that is always bobbing, and white striped wing bars.
And just because I can, here is one last look at the glorious sunrise from Driftwood Beach. Life is so good.
There are more photos of Jekyll Island, and all of our Vanda travels on John’s website. The smugmug platform indicates that photos are “for sale”, but they are not…he has not set this up, FYI.
