Hide and Seek continued...

If king rails are hard to find, locating king rail nests is next to impossible. I returned to the area several more times searching for the nest or brood but never had any luck.

Then, almost by accident, Ron Bell, manager of Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Mound City, and I found what we thought to be a king rail nest. We weren’t sure because it had been more than 30 years since a king rail nest had been confirmed at the Squaw Creek refuge. But, as we stood in waist deep water wondering about our find, we heard the unmistakable call of a king rail. Then, a male and female king rail ran back and forth in front of us.

Ron marked the location of the nest with his GPS unit. When we checked it a week later, all the eggs were hatched and the brood was gone. We’re hoping the birds will return next year.

A few weeks later, Candy Chambers, assistant refuge manager at Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge in Annada, called to tell me about a king rail brood she saw early that morning. I met with her that afternoon, and she took me to the brood right away.

I spent the next several hours observing and photographing an adult king rail and her four 2-week-old chicks foraging for food along a mud flat. In fact, I made many more trips during the next month to capture the birds with my cameras. After a few trips, they just seemed to ignore me and would feed, rest and bathe no more than 3 feet from me.

It wasn’t easy out there. Many days I spent 12 hours under the hot summer sun and under constant attack by mosquitoes and ticks. I got some unique pictures, though; and for a wildlife photographer, there’s no better reward. end of article

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Plants & Animals

About This Article

Author and Photographer

author 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.

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