A rare, “huge” find for birders
BY ROB BENCHLEY
As dusk fell into darkness Saturday, a dozen or more birding experts and enthusiasts waited for the right moment to spread out across a marsh within sight of Saul's Hills in search of the elusive and secretive yellow rail.

Birding experts Richard Veit, left, and Tom Kastner, center, wait for the right moment to look for the diminutive yellow rail; much excitement was generated when one was found, left.

As cold drizzle turned to rain, a shout came up from the middle of the marsh and the group re-formed into a single lump. “There goes one now!” someone yelled from the gloom. “We’ve got one, we’ve got one!” another bellowed. Birders jumped and hooted, hugged and laughed, not feeling the downpour.

Such are the strange (to the uninitiated) emotions of the birding world. Yet, it was a precious find: a yellow rail, with white wing patch and yellow bill. “This is huge,” yelled the elated local birder Edie Ray. “HUGE!”

A rare find, indeed, for Nantucket, and an excellent windup to the island's 51st Annual Christmas Bird Count. In all, 133 separate species were identified, which included two first-time sightings for the fish crow and a blueheaded vireo.

PHOTOS BY ROB BENCHLEY The Independent

In the seven areas counted by roughly 50 birders on Saturday, dizzying numbers (to the uninitiated) were coming in: 385,894 longtailed ducks; 24,369 Northern gannets; 119,938 common eiders; 1,614 robins; 336 goldfinches; 33 great blue herons; 5 turkey vultures and a common moorhen.

“Much history was made,” a drier Edie Ray said Monday night. “These new species are really cool for Nantucket.”

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Peter Trimble (left) Joe Arvay and veteran birder Vernon Laux look over the bluff near Sankaty light where 27 harlequin ducks were spotted.