April 2007 - Volume 68, Issue 4
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I was determined to take photos of the rare and regal king rail.
Wildlife photographers don’t have normal working hours. Hoping to capture the mating behavior of king rails, I rose at 1 a.m. one day last June and drove from Jefferson City to a wetland area north of St. Louis.
Accompanied by the sounds of countless bullfrogs seemingly trying to harmonize, I waded through water and thick vegetation to a place where I’d spotted king rails just a few days earlier. With two cameras—one wide-angle and one supertelephoto—and an electronic caller set up beside me, I watched the sun rise.
I hoped the king rails would still be there.
King Rails live in wetlands from the Gulf Coast to North Dakota. Most birds winter on the coast, but a few migrate to Missouri sometime in late winter or early spring and stay until fall.
King rails are abundant enough to be considered game animals in several southeastern states, but they are not easy to find—much less photograph—in Missouri. Though they used to be common in the marshes along our large rivers, only a handful of these birds now visit our state each year. King rails are classified as endangered in Missouri.
Not only are they rare, but they are hard to see. With their rusty-colored body plummage, striped flanks and thin silhouette, they blend perfectly with wetland vegetation. They are also naturally elusive, usually spending most of the day hidden in dense grass. Researchers have to walk shoulder to shoulder to get them to flush.
About This Article
Author and Photographer
Department of Conservation photographer NOPPADOL PAOTHONG discovered his love and passion for wildlife photography in college in 1995. Born in Thailand, he came to the United States in 1993 to study graphic art before switching to journalism. He has worked as a full-time photographer at the Joplin Globe and the Springfield News-Leader, and has achieved more than 60 regional and national awards.
