I got to Darby Lakes at about 5:30pm today and more birders were trickling in within a half hour. At about 6:30, northeast of the bridge, I got a glimpse of about three seconds of the King Rail as it came out of the reeds out into the open before it ducked behind cover again. 

No one else saw it that time but within half an hour, it was seen briefly again in the same area. Not long after that, the rail came out of the reeds onto the grassy lawn by the main trail between the bridge & parking lot and was walking around the grassy area alongside starlings which made for an interesting tableau of species. 

Needless to say, we all got stunning looks at this beautiful bird. We never heard it vocalize. People were going back-and-forth with dogs and the bird would duck into cover but then emerge again when it quieted down. I stayed until about 7:15 & saw it come out of the reeds onto the grass for a second time before I left. 

If you haven’t seen it yet, from about 5:30 to 7:30pm seems to be good as the bird does seem to wait until the dog and people activity has slackened a bit. 

Good luck. 

Peggy Wang
Granville 

Sent from my iPhone
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