Tuesday, April 24, 2007

What Katie Saw, ...Really ...Railly ... Sora Railly

In the previous post, Kate is looking at this scene. This is the headwater area of Barnett Creek in the Lower Suwannee NWR. In the shadows of the rushes, to the right, lurks our elusive goal.


A little Sora Rail walking on water and flitting in and out of the shadows.
How about that face?
Gotta go. Training in Gainesville today.
I GET TO WORK WITH GROWNUPS!!!
WOOHOOO!
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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's 6:54 a.m. The pics are up, but alas, no story.
So I'll wait.
YOu'll have to get up earlier to get a post in before the rest of us show up! LOL!

pissed off patricia said...

They are indeed beautiful birds. But to me all birds are beautiful. Yep, I'm a bird brain. :)

Thunder said...

Wow, pretty cool looking bird!

Don't get too excited about working with adults. I do that every day, and they can be more childish than alot of children I know!

Doug Taron said...

Great photos. I love soras. We get them from time to time on the prairie that I help manage- though they are by no means a regular occurrence.

Anonymous said...

Good morning! I got busy with company so it's fun coming back and viewing the last several posts. Your bird shots are SO good, these days. What a treat to have that day with Katie in such a special place.

You could send one of your great photos over to Good Planets this week...

robin andrea said...

The only Rail we've ever seen is the Virginia Rail. We saw her on two separate occasions on one of our walking trails, and that was two years ago. They are incredibly secretive about where they hang out. The Sora Rail looks completely different with that yellow beak and black mask. Sounds like the Sora Rail is as hard to find as the Virginia Rail?

Anonymous said...

Those are great photos of the rail. I wouldn't have thought they would let you get as close to them as you apparently did.

Paintsmh said...

What a cool cool looking bird.

Dr. Know said...

Great pictures of an elusive wading bird. But don't get too excited about working with the grownups - you may well end up dissapointed as they are often more childish than their charges. ;-)

Deb said...

I'm starting to envy your uncanny knack for finding unusual birds and taking great pictures of them! I've heard sora rails, but I don't think I've ever seen one.

SophieMae said...

Brilliant! I came across a sora the other day at St Marks. It took me a minute to figure out what it was. It was pecking around in the middle of the road. Never saw one do that before. It always amazes me how rails look so plump, then disappear in the reeds.

I've been kinda puter fasting the past couple weeks. Now it's hard to get back into the habit. 8-}

R.Powers said...

Laura,
You beat me! I send the pics then write the post. Early bird! :)

POP,
I am of the same brain :)

ThunderD,
Yes, I know, but it's nice to relax and not be in control.

Doug,
They must be really wide ranging. Cool mask tho!

Vicki,
Glad you liked the birdiness running rampant here lately. I just keep encountering them.
I appreciate the invite, but I don't do the festivals. I just go and enjoy everyone else's wonderful photos.

Hal,
It dashed just inside the reeds when I approached on foot. You could see it, but it would not come back out. Finally I used the JEEP as a blind and the rail went about it's business. Shots are a little soft as they were in shade and I cropped them up.

Painstmh,
Isn't it? I agree. You may have them up there in your river marshes. I haven't looked up their range.

Doc,
Yeah, and at least the kids have an excuse for being childish.

Deb,
It's pretty common for a marsh dweller like me to see Clapper Rails (Marsh Hens), but the sora was a new one to me. I didn't know we had them.

Sophie,
I bet St. Marks is loaded with them. I noticed your computer fast. Looking forward to your return. When you're ready.

Breezey375 said...

BEAUTIFUL bird. Why can't we have something that cute in New York?

R.Powers said...

Breezey,
You do! This bird ranges allmost the whole continent. Just hard to get close to.