I have to thank Jen at i used to hate birds for this find. A couple of weeks ago I saw a couple of cars parked on the edge of the road along South Quigley Lake at RNWR. I wasn't sure what they were looking at or for, but I didn't see anything. Then Jen posted some great shots of both a Sora and a Viginia Rail a couple of days ago. Based on her description I figured that the cars must have been watching for these birds.So, especially since I have not seen either of these birds, I decided to make a trip to RNWR and see what I could find.
Success! I found both, although I didn't realize that the last bird was actually a Virginia Rail until I got home and looked closer at the images.
I was actually watching some Red-winged Blackbirds when I noticed something move down near the edge of the road near the waters edge. It wasn't very big, so a Sora or Virginia Rail wasn't what came to mind. I pictured larger birds, like a Coot. But there it was, a Sora, right below my door. I spent about 10 minutes following it along the edge of the water, trying to get a clear shot as it ducked in and out among the cattails and foliage.
All-in-all, quite a lot of fun.
Hey thanks for the shout out! I actually went through the same process- saw cars parked along the lake and wondered what they were doing, then saw rail and Sora photos on Flickr and put it together. I'm so glad you were able to find both! I agree that they are way smaller than expected!
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