Evening star., 1961-09-03
NEED APOGEE MOON
Elusive Rail Birds First on Fall Hunting List
By CHARLES COVELL
Outdoor Editor

guide to pole you through a
marsh and with shotgun in
hand peer closely into the reeds
for that elusive little bird, the
rail.
AS your eyes grow accus-
toned to the dun-colored sur
roundings, you'll begin to see
the birds slipping away
through the reeds or along the
edge of a channel, their plum
age blending perfectly with the
background.
They'll flush only at the last
moment but when one does, it's
an easy target. The challenge
is not in the shooting but in
the seeing.
Although some of the best
fishing months Of the year are
still ahead, hunting also is
starting. Rail shooting began
Friday in both Maryland and
Virginia along with the squir-
rel seasons in a few counties
of the latter State.
All in One Family
Maryland's open. season on
rails and gallinules will extend
through October 20 and Vir-
ginia'S through october 81 with
daily bag limits Is and pos
session limits 80 except on
Sora. On these the bag and pos
session limits are 25. Shooting
hours are sunup to sunset
standard time.
Rails, gallinules and coots
all belong to one family, al
through coots are usually con-
fused with ducks because of
their swimming habits.
They are small to fair-Sized
birds with bodies we'll adapted
to progress through thickly
growing marsh reeds and grass,
long necks, small heads, short,
rounded tails and long, strong
legs; Bills are short in the cootS
and gallinules, long and slight
ly curved in the rails.
Coots and gallinules we can
dismiss. The former come un-
der the duck regulations and
the latter are not found very
commonly in these parts.
King Rails Largest
Among the rails, there are
several species. kings. the larg-
est. about 19 inches long, clap
pers. Is inches long. Virginia
rails, II inches long, and sora,
only 9 inches long.
There are two even smaller
species, fellow rails and black
rails, but they are not hunted
in this area.
OF the larger birds, the clap
pers are by far the most nu-
merous, being found in abun-
dance In the salt marshes along
our nearby seacoast.
Sora are the birds of the
Patuxent marshes in nearby
Maryland. Like tine, dark col
ored bantam hens. they spend
their lives slipping through
fresh or brackish water bogs
hunting food. Though thin as
q rail" may be true in the
spring. by fall they generally
are fat enough,
Hunt at High Tide
All. rail hunting is done at
high tide since the marshes
must be flooded enough to
float the guide boats.
"Pushers" for hunting the
Patuxent marshes used to get
$40 per tide. but initiation has
caught up with sora shooting
as with everything else and the
price now is SIS.
FaVorite area for hunting
!clapper rails is along the East
lern Shore of Virginia from
,Chincoteague to Cape Charles.
Guides are available at Chin
coteague, Wachapreague, Quin-
by and other towns.
Best time is when the moon
is in apogee, thereby providing
the peak tides necessary. In
both September and October,
highest tides, except for pos
lsible storm tides, will be found
from about the 10Th to the 28th
of the month,
Size of Small Chickens
! Guide boats will take you by
Ioutboard motor out the chan
Inels and into the marshes
where the guide will turn off
the motor and start polling. He
will point out birds if you can't
see them and retrieve the fall
en- ones.
| Clapper rails are about the
size of small chickens, hence
the popular name, mud hen.
They also fly like chickens and
it's no trick to down one, two
or three in one sweep. But
don't waste any time in going
after the birds. Wounded rails
will dive to the bottom. seize
a clump of grass in their beaks
and drown rather than come
to the surface.
Twelve-gauge shotguns with
dove loads; that is, No. 8 or
No. 9 shot, are commonly used
but 20-gauge guns are more
sporting and a .410 probably
will do the job.
Always try to get the birds
up. In the water they are sur
prisingly difficult targets.
Fry, Southern Style
Clappers are usually skinned
instead of plucked and fried,
Southern style, like young
chicken, are delicious. There is
no "fishy" taste.