Endangered Species: California Clapper Rail

     The California Clapper Rail is one of three subspecies of birds that came to be as a result of geographic isolation.  The bird itself is a rusty brown color with splashes of gray and white on its wings.  This makes allows it to easily find refuge in cordgrass and pickleweed.  Before 1900, hunters killed thousands of rails each week.  With continued growth of urbanization and diking, creating a land barrier to prevent flooding, the habitat of the rails has been greatly decreased.  Today only 15% of San Francisco’s marshland remains, much of which has become fragmented.  The introduction of invasive species, including Norway rats, red foxes, and feral cats, has only worsened the situation.  The bird was only identified as an endangered species by the Federal Endangered Species Act in 1970.  Currently, residents are encouraged to keep their cats indoors to prevent unnecessary predation of the clapper rail (Wild Equity Institute, rec 28 May 2013).  As far as conservation methods go, the USGS, or US Geological Survey, launched 10 habitat islands at Arrowhead Marsh in Oakland, California.  The islands are constructed from palm screens or recycled materials and are even equipped with plastic avoidance spikes to keep out predators.  Thus far, the islands have received heavy use by the California Clapper Rail, especially during times of rising tides when there are fewer safe places to rest in the marshland.  These islands are predicted to become very useful in the management of the California Clapper Rail population (Taylar, rec 28 May, 2013).