Virginia: Marsh Hens

[Daktari]

A year ago I traveled to Virginia specifically Chincoteague Island to hunt Clapper rails also known as Marsh Hens. This trip was a continuation of my obsession with trying to collect all four species of huntable rails which include King, Clapper, Virginia, and Sora which are rarely targeted by hunters. I previously collected the Sora rail while hunting in Maine and now moved on to targeting the other three species in Virginia. When I began on this trip the plan was to hunt a few days in the salt marsh surrounding Chincoteague for Clapper rails and then move on to the freshwater side of the peninsula in the Chesapeake Bay to target the freshwater rails like the King and Virginia. The method of hunting was different from which I previously done in Maine involving us getting out of the boat in either waders or shorts and walking through the flooded spartina grass in order to flush out the rails. We were hunting during a king tide in September which yielded excellent hunting. After 4 or 5 hours of hunting I finished the day with a limit of 15 Clapper rails. I found the hunt to be an excellent experience and an opportunity to step back in time into a form of wing shooting which many hunters nowadays do not get to experience. It was also fun comparing my experience hunting Sora rails while being push-pulled in wild rice Flats. This form of hunting was especially hard work considering that it felt like walking in quicksand in the muddy salt flats. I also found that the Clapper rails were slower flyers compared to their Sora counterparts. Now with the Clapper in hand our attention was then drawn to collecting the Virginia and King Rail on the freshwater side of the eastern shore of Virginia. The hunting would be conducted the same way where we would get out of the boat and wade through exposed grass hoping to flush our quarry. After one day of hunting the freshwater marsh I acquired four Clapper rails. Unfortunately, no Virginia or King rails were seen during this trip but I still had an excellent time. Chincoteague was a very fun town to explore and is steeped in a deep-rooted history of waterfowling. The seafood was phenomenal, especially the Chincoteague salt oysters, and I had the best Bloody Mary of my life! I look forward to targeting the other two species of rails in the future and will keep you all posted.