Mama Rail surprises me!

  I head to the pier most every day.  It seems as if that is the one place that I can fully relax and find an inner peace.  The water calls to me so I go.  I watch the critters that also find life there.  Both in the water and along the shoreline, I find critters that I call my friends.  On a few rare occasions, some of the critters actually seem to reciprocate the feelings.  We share a bond and that bond totally revolves around the Bayou.  

  This morning, an old friend greeted me on the walk up the pier.  Mark called my attention to a small Rail that was scampering across the mudflats.  She was hunting breakfast on this early morn.  There is nothing unusual about seeing the rail except this time she seemed a bit more wary than most mornings.  It did not take long to realize the cause of her edginess.  She had brought her brood of youngsters out from the nest in the marsh.  Mama Rail was teaching her babies the fine art of scavenging the mudflats for a meal.  Fiddler Crabs and Bull Minnows crowd this small area and are easy pickings for the Rails and other shorebirds.  This morning, however, the flats were vacant except for the little family.  

  Mark took Ms. Ez, the Bayou Dog, up the hill so I could sit and watch the Rails in peace.  Ms. Ez usually sits patiently beside me during times like this but with Mark around, she is a bit antsy.  She thinks he is only there to play with her and watching the marsh birds is too quiet for her when he is here.  As they went up the hill, I sat and communed with the birds. Mama Rail brought the brood back out of the marsh where they had scampered to be safe from the big, lumbering dog.  Although Ms. Ez would never harm a bird, she is a bit overbearing at times. Mama Rail was just being a mama by protecting her little ones.   Now, however, she felt at ease and brought them out for me to see. What a fine bunch of youngsters!

  Clapper Rails are funny birds.  They are small compared to most shorebirds but have huge personalities!  They are normally quite secretive birds and are rarely seen yet if one feels safe, they come out into the open.  Mama Rail is so used to my presence that she often never even notices when I am around.  Each year, she proudly brings her brood out for my inspection.  I talk with her and tell her what fine bunch of kids she has.  Sometimes I think she understands. She will tilt her head to one side to stare at me while I brag on her family.  The little ones happily skitter across the mudflats and play Hide and Seek in the marshes.  My little friend's visit made my morning!  Her sharing her brood with me was the highlight of my day!