Sora are a type of rail. They are thin and elusive, spending much of their time deep in the reeds, although their loud whinny is frequently heard.
In 29 years of birding, I’ve seen them perhaps 35 times. Today at Crabtree, I saw five of them within five minutes, four of them at virtually the same time.
They weren’t at all shy, and I was even able to get some pictures with my wimpy digital camera. No, that’s not my picture on the right. I stole that one off the internet.
Here’s mine.
Still, I thought it was pretty spectacular.
Here’s what all I saw (in the order in which I saw them): Tree Swallow; Red-winged Blackbird; Mallard, Brown-headed Cowbird; Canada Goose; Red-tailed Hawk; Common Grackle; Great Blue Heron; American Robin; Black-capped Chickadee; Blue-winged Teal; American Coot; Great Egret; American Goldfinch; Double-crested Cormorant; Blue Jay; Yellow-rumped Warbler; Palm Warbler; Northern Cardinal; Swamp Sparrow; Song Sparrow; Sora; Marsh Wren; Red-bellied Woodpecker; Northern Waterthrush; Gray Catbird; Northern Flicker; Pied-billed Grebe; Rose-breasted Grosbeak; Turkey Vulture; Eastern Kingbird; Barn Swallow; American Crow