Habitat Ridgway's rail

pickleweed creek, upper arm of richardson bay looking toward bothin marsh

one of largest population of ridgway s rails in san francisco bay, total of 1100 resident. photo above right taken of ridgway s rail @ san francisco bay perimeter near dumbarton bridge; don edwards san francisco bay national wildlife refuge in area provides protected habitats , other native species. other frequent sightings of species around san francisco bay include napa sonoma marsh, bothin marsh in mill valley, gallinas creek in san rafael, arrowhead marsh , damon marsh in oakland, palo alto baylands, charleston slough in mountain view, seal slough in san mateo , belmont slough.

for cover, ridgway s rail seeks out emergent wetland dominated pickleweed , cordgrass, or brackish emergent wetland 2 plants plus bulrush. not clear whether requires source of fresh water. although not migratory in coastal wetlands, species disperses juveniles freshwater wetlands in late august through october. ridgway s rail has been observed forage in or near relatively disturbed areas, leading 1 deduce importance of protecting numeral marsh areas; example species seen foraging in small mudflat area within seal slough in san mateo, 3 miles nearest known breeding area in belmont.