1\/800, f\/8, ISO 400, Canon 40D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\nI was only able to get four shots of it and this was the only sharp one – probably because I had buck fever and my shutter speed was relatively low. Hell, to be perfectly honest I didn’t even know what species I had in my viewfinder but I did sense it was special and I actually remember shaking as I tried to maneuver my pickup\u00a0to get the shot before the bird disappeared into the reeds. Thankfully I no longer shake with excitement when I encounter “special” birds and that’s a very good thing for a bird photographer.<\/p>\n
The Virginia Rail is the epitome of elusiveness.\u00a0Though their populations are relatively stable, they’re so very secretive that\u00a0most folks rarely if ever see them and when they do they typically only get a fleeting glimpse of the bird through the reeds.\u00a0Their laterally compressed bodies (which isn’t very evident here because of the unusual pose)\u00a0allow them to squeeze through extremely narrow gaps in vegetation so they usually seem to disappear as if by magic.<\/p>\n
Relatively little is known about these\u00a0fresh water game birds (hunting\u00a0them is permitted) because of their\u00a0extremely shy habits and the fact that hunters show virtually no interest in them so there’s been\u00a0very little research done on their natural history.<\/p>\n
In the nine years since I took this\u00a0photo I’ve only had two or three decent opportunities with Virginia Rails and this is still my favorite image of the species. If I hadn’t been able to get this single shot sharp I’d\u00a0be kicking my own backside to this day.<\/p>\n
It isn’t\u00a0a terribly attractive setting but if the bird had been in its preferred habitat I’d have never seen it at all. So I’ll take it.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
PS – Back in 2012 when I originally posted this image, blog follower Sharon Constant made the following comment about the pose of this bird.\u00a0Sharon’s comment\u00a0made me smile back then and I smiled again last night while I was preparing today’s post:<\/p>\n
\n- “Like a southern belle adjusting her bustle as she walks off the ballroom floor.”<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Getting this shot was nothing more than dumb luck – especially considering my “buck fever” at the time.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/virginia-rail-0708b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"virginia-rail-0708b-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/a>1\/800, f\/8, ISO 400, Canon 40D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n