I grew up a fishermans son and so I perhaps have an overdeveloped patience.
One of things I do somedays is to naturalize with a little folding, three
legged backpacking stool. When I get to a likely place, I set up the stool
and sit, quiet and motionless for whatever period feels right. In this way I
have had many interesting sightings and encounters, so while I might not see
as many things as somebody who walked 4 miles, I tend to get long and
personal looks into the lives of animals. When you sit still, (and assuming
you are downwind and more or less camoflauged) you blend into the world you
are in, your senses settle down and can engage, and the animals which went
into hiding when you stomped up, all go back to their work. It is also a
very different mental thing for me, I feel less of a stranger and more of a
participant in the world. I come home with a different, relaxed mindset. It
is part of my personal birding phiosophy that I would rather watch a Robin
for two hours and gain some knowledge about how it lives, than tick off a
bird on a list then move on to the next one.

As to Rails, well, when and where they show themselves seems to not be
relative to how long or quietly I have sat in a place. I was once with a
rather noisey group of kids at Spenser Island and we had a rail in plain
view, within 15 feet of us. I sat for a couple hours at Nisqually once,
through a rainstorm, hoping to get a glimpse of a calling rail to no luck.


Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer
The Environmental Science School
http://www.nonprofitpages.com/nica/SVE.htm
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