Rail and Reflection

[Raul Quinones]

From my last trip to Merritt Island, 3/29/2008 08:29:50

I believe is a Virginia Rail, but I could be wrong, comments and recommendations as always are appreciated.

Canon EOS 40D, EF500mm f/4L IS USM, Better Beamer
1/400Sec, F7.1, 500.0 mm
Evaluative metering, Exposure Compensation 0, ISO 400, Flash -2

[Maxis Gamez]

Hi Raul,

Love the reflection and head turn. The eye is very sharp and you have a lot of details. Excellent work.

[John Chardine]

It looks like a Virginia Rail but what I can't figure out is that on this bird the barred sides come right up to the scaly back so where is the brown, relatively plain wing?? Virginia and King Rails are quite similar except the King is about twice the size. No way to get an idea of size from the image.

Beautiful image by the way. The reflection is almost indistinguishable from the real bird! Congratulations.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Raul this is beautiful and the reflections are just lovely with excellent detail. IMO I would like to see a little more room all the way around as it feels a little tight to me. Fine work !!!!

[Daniel Cadieux]

Wow, quite the reflection!! I would consider cloning out the bright half circle emerging from the lower back as well as the floating feather next to the leg. This looks more like a King Rail - the Virginia has some black on the sides and a redder bill.

[Raul Quinones]

Thanks for comments. After reviewing my field guide and the help of Daniel and John, and the fact that this bird was close to a sora which allow for size comparison, the correct id is King Rail.

[Ian Colley]

Wonderful image, hard to tell wich way is up. A little more room would be nice.

[Gus Cobos]

I like this image Raul. Very nice composition, the reflection of the bird and his head angle is great...:D

[Roman Kurywczak]

I'm a tight crop Guy.......so I love this! My only nit, and it is a minor one, is to clean up the white specks on the water...not the feather.........and maybe the spot between and besides the legs. Very nice though,
Roman

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Gang, There is lots of mis-information floating around above... Though I am field-guide-less here at my Mom's on Long Island, I am 99% sure that this bird is not a Virginia Rail... The big challenge is separating King Rail (more common in fresh water) and Clapper Rail (more common in saltwater). I am fairly sure that separating the two in the field or by photos is nearly impossible.

When photographing birds and their reflections one strategy to consider is to add a teleconverter and photograph only the reflection. This because the reflection is often of richer color and quality of the bird itself...

later and love, artie

ps: Agree on cleaning up some of the crud in the water...

[Juan Aragonés]

Can´t help with identification but I can say that this one is gorgeus. The reflection is cristal clear and the bird has a very nice pose. Great eye contact. Well done

[David Roach]

Hey Raul,
Just a wonderful image of this shy species!!!! Great to get them in the open! Congrats! It was great to meet you at Loxahatchee a few weeks back.

[Dan Brown]

Great shot! I am not an expert on rail ID. but I also don't think that this is a Virginia Rail. I have been told that the barriing on the flanks is a good way to seperate King from Clapper rails. King Rail flanks would have more black and white striping and not brown and white striping as in this images. So, I think that this is a beautiful image of a Clapper Rail. If only it would vocalize. Dan Brown

[Arthur Morris]

Dan, As far as I know, separating King and Clapper Rail in the field is extremely difficult and best left to the Sibleys and the Crossleys of the world...

[Dan Brown]

Yea, you are probably right. I wonder when the lumpers will get ahold of these two "species" . Maybe they will name the lump "Greater Virginia Rail" . Dan