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Written by James Froggatt
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My previous post promised further highlights of our visits to the Outer Bank’s. Well this isn’t one of them. In fact it’s a non-event! Of the 6 species of rail potentially present in the area we have seen or heard exactly ZERO! We didn’t hold out any great hope of observing yellow or even black rails, particularly given the time of year of our visits. However, we thought that clapper and Virginia rails where pretty good bets with an outside chance of king and sora. Research prior to our first visit further supported this belief and identified several likely locations. We subsequently focused on Bodie Island (10 visits) and Pea Island (8 visits). Over the years we have also tried at Jockey Ridge (sound side), Alligator River, Oregon Inlet, Cape Hatteras, Mackay Island and many other likely looking roadside stops and marshland locations – still no luck. Although our visits ranged from mid-morning to early evening, I suspect that the extremes of the day could hold out better hope. So this post is really a plea for advice on how / when / where to see the little blighters. Our next visit is early to mid Spring 2010. Maybe someone who knows the secret of how to see or hear these OBX specialties at that time of year can post a reply – PLEASE!!!
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Adventures 
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