Is that a clapper rail?

 

Why, yes, it is a clapper rail.

When I snapped photos of the bird at Baytown Nature Center from my car, I wasn't sure what it was. I tried to identify it later by looking online and came up with clapper rail.

But that didn't seem right. I'm not a birder, but I hang around some birders so I know clapper rails are elusive. On bird counts they usually are heard rather than seen. Also this was a big bird, and I always imagined clapper rails as smaller birds hiding in the grass.

Unsure about my identification, I asked three birder buddies, and they all agreed it looks like a clapper rail. The white eyebrow, gray face and tail feathers are major clues.

As a non-birder, I was quite pleased with my sighting.

Sharing the road with a snapping turtle

This snapping turtle was very snappy when I tried to nudge it off the road at Sheldon Lake State Park. 

Hello Monarch butterfly

This caterpillar chose the underside of a the porch railing to become a chrysalis and gave me great view of its transformation into a Monarch butterfly.

The pupa

When it became dark, you could see the wings.

Hello, gorgeous!

Then it dropped to a leaf and began testing its wings.

Good night.

Flying Question Mark

 
Backyard distraction. A Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) stopped by while I was doing some yard work. So I had to stop and take a pic with my phone.