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A black rail sits in someone's hand. The grey, white, and brown feathers are seen in great detail.
A black rail sits in someone's hand. The grey, white, and brown feathers are seen in great detail.
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Black Rail in Coastal Louisiana

Audubon Delta is conducting surveys to better understand and document this rare and elusive species’ status in coastal Louisiana.
Black Rail Photo: Nadje Najar
Black Rail Photo: Nadje Najar
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Black Rail in Coastal Louisiana

Audubon Delta is conducting surveys to better understand and document this rare and elusive species’ status in coastal Louisiana.
  • The Black Rail is considered critically imperiled in Louisiana and is listed as a Tier 1 Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the Louisiana Wildlife Action Plan. In 2020, it was listed under the Endangered Species Act.
  • Knowledge of the status of species in Louisiana is limited due to a lack studies in coastal marshes:
    • Black Rail's natural tendency to call at night and the vast expanse of marsh habitat in Louisiana makes this species difficult to study using traditional surveys. 
  • The lack of knowledge of the species in Louisiana has prevented the implementation of effective conservation measures that would benefit this species.
    • Without knowing when and where Black Rail occurs in the state, restoration and management efforts will be unable to accommodate the habitat needs of this rare and declining species. 

Audubon Delta Black Rail Project:

  • Our Black Rail Project, in cooperation with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will document Black Rails' presence or absence across Louisiana’s coastal zone. 
  • Valuable data will be collected, allowing this species to be included in restoration and management plans and activities.
  • Our biologists began bird and vegetation surveys in May 2017, identified and scouted possible marsh survey locations, and created a predictive map of Cameron Parish's high salt marsh habitat.
  • In November 2017, we conducted night-time drag-line surveys in the high coastal marsh to locate and band Black and Yellow Rails as part of a migration study.
You can help! 

The Black Rail is considered critically imperiled in Louisiana and is listed as a Tier 1 Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the Louisiana Wildlife Action Plan. It was also listed in the Endangered Species Act in 2020. We will continue to conduct drag-line surveys and need volunteers! This exciting volunteer opportunity will allow participants to seek out the Gulf Coast’s most elusive marsh bird: the Black Rail.

For survey dates and more information, contact Jonathon.Lueck@audubon.org



 

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