As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Tuesday 2 September 2014

Rare aquatic chick is same size as cotton ball

A rare baby bird rescued by a Petaluma resident is so teeny, it's the same size as a cotton ball. 

BABY BLACK RAIL
International Bird Rescue / Isabel Luevano


Dione Rochelle found the aquatic shorebird while she was on an evening walk last week. 

Rochelle told SFgate.com, "He was just walking down the middle of the path like he owned the place. He looked like a pom-pom. He was going pretty fast. We stepped back thinking there was a mother or other babies.”

Rochelle realized the chick was all alone in Shollenberger Park and carefully picked up it up. The chick was a Black Rail, an elusive bird that is hardly ever seen. Black Rails are a threatened species in California because of habitat loss.

She took the orphaned chick covered in black fuzzy feathers home and brought it to Wildcare in San Rafael the following day. Wildcare transferred the chick to the International Bird Rescue's San Francisco Bay center.

On Tuesday, bird experts working at IBR said they could not believe just how tiny and adorable the chick was.


1 comment:

  1. Thanks for posting this. Here is more information about this baby black rail including what the full grown rail looks like as well as a video of his feeding after being rescued. http://www.positivelypetaluma.com/2014/08/13/petaluma-resident-rescues-rare-aquatic-chick-the-size-of-a-cotton-ball/

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