This was the highlight of the bird year! Not only was it a beautiful bird, with a haunting call--but it was so fun to stalk and track it. Tracey walked us through it. She sent a pin of where she saw it at Legacy Park in Malibu, and so we followed her instructions to the letter. Locating the southwest corner of the pond, we went off road and waited near the reeds--Chris at one spot and me in another. We both used call back and knew there were at least two birds in the reeds. It took patience but how wonderful after 45 minutes to see the Sora come out, hesitating... but then darting at full speed across the water--it looked like it was walking on water.
Birder pal Chris L. says: "Sora are very difficult to see. You might hear them but rarely see them. This is a real treat."
The sora (Porzana carolina) is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae, sometimes also referred to as the sora rail or sora crake. The genus name Porzana is derived from Venetian terms for small rails, and Carolina refers to the Carolina Colony. "Sora" is probably taken from a Native American language.
Legacy Park is a nice spot in Malibu along the highway. We saw a beautiful snowy egret munching on dragonflies, a group of mallards and a beautiful green teal.
Comments