Many new people are enjoying birding in this pandemic time. We get a lot of great questions on our Facebook page now. One of the best was - “Is that a yellow rail next to my flowerpot?”

Why yes, Shelly Loke, it is!! This rail was spotted on Saturday May 15th, 2020 - the day following that fantastic birdy Friday - in a backyard near Irving Park and Western in Chicago. It spent a few hours creeping around her yard and lurking near the fence line.

Those familiar with the bird know that this is a very rare sighting. When these birds do pass through the area, we assume that they stop over in wetlands where they are very difficult to find.

Shelly was a great rail landlord. She said, “This little guy will be safe in my backyard for as long as he stays. I want him to eat up my snails and slugs!”

Shelly keeps her cats indoors, which helps all the birds that stop in her yard on migration. “Alphonz and Sidhe would have made short work of this tasty and tired chicken shaped guy if they were intentionally let out.”

You can learn lots more about rails at our program tomorrow night:

Elusive Migration: Rails, Migration and How We Care for their Wetlands

We hope you had a few magical sightings this May!