For avid birders, the eastern black rail is the holy grail of bird sightings. Searching for this mysterious and threatened bird reveals a tale of mystery and obsession. Listen to this special episode from reporter Tony Bartelme on how few will ever see SC's elusive black rail. Will climate change make it vanish forever?
On Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the eastern black rail as threatened under the Endangered Species Act giving the bird new protections. The move, delayed by nearly a year, comes after The Post and Courier's special report on the plight of the bird.
A little black bird may be here, underneath these bouncing dragonflies, somewhere in these sparkling green waves. A rare bird called the eastern black rail. A bird so difficult to see that John James Audubon never saw one in the wild. A bird so stealthy that even the most ardent birders haven’t seen one, though they may have heard their calls. So rare that Christy Hand, a biologist, asks — no, pleads — that you not reveal where you are because she knows mysteries are irresistible.
Listen to learn more about black rails in South Carolina.