Marsh Hens

Clapper rails, often affectionately known as marsh hens, are the secretive voices of the Lowcountry, slipping through the Charleston marshes long before most people ever spot one. They live on tide time, nesting deep in spartina and moving with the water more than the land. While many stay year-round, some rails migrate up and down the Atlantic coast, shifting with seasons to find better feeding grounds. Here they help keep the marsh in balance, picking off crabs, insects, and whatever else the tide leaves behind. If you’ve heard that sharp “kek-kek-kek” at dusk, you’ve already crossed paths with a true marsh local.

Beyond their stealth and their unmistakable call, clapper rails play a vital ecological role in these tidal ecosystems. Their presence is an indicator of a healthy, functioning marsh, since they rely on intact spartina stands (think almost like a raft of spartina that acts as a marsh hen board walk over pluff mud & water!) and clean, productive mudflats to thrive. Scientists refer to species that indicate health of an ecosystem as indicator species.  As both predator and prey, they help drive the natural rhythms of the estuary, managing insect and crab populations while also supporting larger birds and mammals as prey.

Clapper Rail on spartina wrack! (photo credit and blog post by Joseph Coll)