We have only seen one of these birds so far and couldn’t identify it. After we got home, Wendy used the Merlin App (highly recommended!) to take a picture with her phone of my picture on the computer screen and the app identified it as the Clapper Rail. This rail is common in saltwater marshes and mangrove swamps from the east coast all the way around to Texas. They have special glands that allow them to drink salt water.
This photograph was taken last week about an hour after sunrise in the North Cove Harbor Wetlands Sanctuary, Rockport, Texas. (Nikon Z5, 1/640 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 400mm, Cropped