Sora Gallery

A sora walks through the marsh near the old observation blind at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

A Glimpse

I don't like the look of the out-of-focus plants in the foreground, but I was still pretty excited to see this sora, as I've rarely seen them in my life, much less had a chance to photograph one. And it was on a morning in which I had started to regret getting out of bed before sunrise, as not much had been visible.

But then I came across some cedar waxwings, had a cottontail hop up to me and sniff my boots, and then when I got to the old observation blind, had a female ruddy duck to the front, a nestful of baby coots also to the front, an occasional Virginia rail off to the left, and this sora that popped into view for just a second on my right. And then a Wilson’s snipe also came out briefly to forage.

It wasn't a great situation for pictures but it was fun seeing so many shy creatures busting out all around me. That old observation blind was replaced by a newer one a while back, and I was sorry to see it, as I much preferred the old one.

A sora walks through the marsh at the edge of South Quigley Lake at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

A Sight for Sora Eyes

The arrival of the new year brought an unexpected surprise in early 2010, as while settled in to watch bitterns I had the good fortune to see two shy birds of the marsh, Virginia rails and sora. I see rails a little more often than sora so I was particularly pleased to see my little yellow-beaked friend. I rarely had a chance for pictures, as they were moving quickly and trying their best to stay out of sight, but this one finally gave me a chance on January 2nd.

I had a moment of trepidation as I saw a sora and bittern walking towards each other, unaware, and wasn't sure if the bittern would try to catch the smaller bird or not. The sora ducked into the grasses deeper in the marsh and when the bittern came past, it never strayed from searching for voles and salamanders along the shore.

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