[NO LOCAL IMAGE YET]

I have looked for, but not yet seen or even heard, the California or Yuma Clapper Rail.  I have seen both the Virginia Rail and elusive Sora here, but this is a tough one to add to your life list. This highly-secretive and endangered bird has a very limited range in the Imperial Valley; the Colorado river marshes near the Arizona border and a small marsh (Salt Creek estuary) on the eastern shore of the Salton Sea. It has also been reported being heard at Dos Palmas Oasis near the Salton Sea, one of my favorite destinations during the winter months.

If you are interested in learning more about this bird online - I recommend you start with the Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/infocenter.html

They present photographs, songs, identification tips, maps, and life history information for North American birds - including the Clapper Rail

OTHER OUTSIDE LINKS FOR THIS BIRD:

Yuma Clapper Rail - Image and field notes from the Lower Colorado Multi-Species Conservation Program.

Clapper Rail - USGS Study of  "Biological and Ecotoxicological Characteristics of Terrestrial Vertebrate Species Residing in Estuaries" includes photo and references for Clapper Rails throughout the U.S.

Light-Footed Clapper Rail - Web site for the "Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve" in Imperial Beach, San Diego County, where this Clapper Rail is easier to see.

The following "WAV" format sound file is copyrighted by Doug Von Gausig of Sedona, Arizona, as part of "The Sounds of Nature" Web site at www.naturesongs.com:

• http://www.naturesongs.com/rail1.wav - Yuma Clapper Rail