Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Porzana carolina

Yesterday, 26 June 2017, our temperature reached 29C, which is too hot for me. The inside of my place was uncomfortably warm, so I knew I just had to go for a short drive to get some air-conditioning. My usual drive SW of the city was a bit disappointing, as the few Mountain Bluebirds I did see were only distant. I was beginning to think that the babies must have already fledged from the one nest box. However, the Wilson's Snipe were doing their usual thing, perching on top of fence posts. Not that I need any more Snipe photos : ) While I was photographing them, I noticed a small bird down on the road, way in the distance. Driving very slowly, as I got closer, I realized it was a Sora. For a second or two, it ran down the road alongside my car, until I completely stopped. Just managed to get a couple of shots before it vanished from sight. I always forget how small these birds are. "A small, secretive bird of freshwater marshes, the Sora is the most common and widely distributed rail in North America. Its distinctive descending whinny call can be easily heard from the depths of the cattails, but actually seeing the little marsh-walker is much more difficult." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sora/id

These shorebirds are so hard to photograph - they move quickly in and out and through the cattails and other water plants. Always surprises me just how small they are - in my mind, they are larger. Saw this one and presumably its mate, SE of the city on 12 July 2014. These birds tend to be heard rather than seen, and I was determined to try and get at least one shot that was half OK. Happy to get any kind of photo, though. It was fun watching how they go about collecting insects for their young ones, who were hidden in amongst the Cattails and dense water plants. I could hear them, but not see them. My first stop was at Frank Lake, where I saw a few more Eared Grebes with their quite large "babies". The light was really bad, so it was impossible to get photos that showed colour and details. Will lighten one or two of them and see if that works. As well as these Soras, I also saw a few very distant White-faced Ibis, but I lucked out later, finding a lone Ibis at a slough somewhere around the lake. "A small, secretive bird of freshwater marshes, the Sora is the most common and widely distributed rail in North America. Its distinctive descending whinny call can be easily heard from the depths of the cattails, but actually seeing the little marsh-walker is much more difficult." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/sora/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sora_ (bird)

These shorebirds are so hard to photograph - they move quickly in and out and through the cattails and other water plants. Always surprises me just how small they are - in my mind, they are larger - until I see one. "A small, secretive bird of freshwater marshes, the Sora is the most common and widely distributed rail in North America. Its distinctive descending whinny call can be easily heard from the depths of the cattails, but actually seeing the little marsh-walker is much more difficult." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/sora/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sora_ (bird) On 10 July 2014, I checked the weather forecast before dashing down to the Frank Lake area, SE of the city. Pretty much a spur of the moment thing. The temperature had gone down a few degrees from the unbearably hot day before, and the sun was shining. On the Weather Network, I discovered that there was a weather Alert in effect, possibly huge hailstones and also the possibility of a tornado. Thinking I might get a chance to see some interesting clouds, I decided that I would still go. My destination was Frank Lake and the surrounding area, where I bumped into friend, Greg Wagner, who is extremely knowledgeable about the area and its wildlife, and does an amazing job of recording all his sightings. I saw Eared Grebes with their young ones (quite big now), a few White-faced Ibis and Black-crowned Night Herons (no photos). Did manage to get a few shots of a Sora (thanks for telling me to watch out for them, Greg!). After I'd finished at the blind, Greg took me to various spots around the lake, pointing out places where he had seen interesting things, hoping that they might still be there for me to see. Thanks so much, Greg - I enjoyed this and really appreciated it! One of the birds we saw was a Western Kingbird - our more common Kingbird is the Eastern, so I was very happy to see a Western. We also passed by a male Great Horned Owl, who was perched on one of the huge power pylons. The clouds were building up as the hours went by and it did rain just a little when I was driving home. Fortunately, no hail or tornado! The sky looked so dramatic in person, though my photos were a little disappointing. Good enough, though, to remind me of a most enjoyable few hours SE of the city.

This young Sora was, I would guess, somewhere between a week and 10 days old? Such a funny little thing - I'd never seen a young one before. Just like its parents, it wasn't easy to photograph in amongst the Cattails and other water plants. Managed to shoot this photo just in time to get the whole bird without any stem across its little body. They move constantly - and fast! Photo taken on 28 July 2014, when I drove SE of the city, mainly to escape from the heat of my house for a few hours. Frank Lake was my first stop and then I drove around the lake and further eastwards. Saw quite a few birds on this trip, including quite a nice look at a single White-faced Ibis in a small slough. It was interesting to watch it feeding in amongst a family of American Avocets. Other birds seen that afternoon/evening included a Western Kingbird (yet again, couldn't get a decent shot), a Western Meadowlark, a couple of Swainson's Hawks perched on tall power lines, Black-necked Stilts too far away, Phalaropes, a couple of Eared Grebes, Barn Swallow, and a Gray Partridge that quickly disappeared into the tall grasses. "A small, secretive bird of freshwater marshes, the Sora is the most common and widely distributed rail in North America. Its distinctive descending whinny call can be easily heard from the depths of the cattails, but actually seeing the little marsh-walker is much more difficult." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/sora/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sora_ (bird)

These shorebirds are so hard to photograph - they move quickly in and out and through the cattails and other water plants. Always surprises me just how small they are - in my mind, they are larger. Saw this one and presumably its mate, SE of the city yesterday, 12 July 2014. These birds tend to be heard rather than seen, and I was determined to try and get at least one shot that was half OK. Well, I got more than half this bird before it ran past me through the water, showing nothing but a rear view. Took lots of shots, but most will need to be deleted : ) Happy to get any kind of photo, though. It was fun watching how they go about collecting insects for their young ones - they were hidden in amongst the Cattails and dense water plants, so I could hear them, but not see them. My first stop was at Frank Lake, where I saw a few more Eared Grebes with their quite large "babies". The light was really bad, so it was impossible to get photos that showed colour and details. Will lighten one or two of them and see if that works. Saw Soras again - love these little guys, they are so cute. A few very distant White-faced Ibis, but I lucked out later, finding a lone Ibis at a slough somewhere around the lake. Also saw a couple of small birds that I'm not sure of the ID for, along the country backroads. Posted one of them today and will upload a very poor photo of the other sometime soon. "A small, secretive bird of freshwater marshes, the Sora is the most common and widely distributed rail in North America. Its distinctive descending whinny call can be easily heard from the depths of the cattails, but actually seeing the little marsh-walker is much more difficult." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/sora/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sora_ (bird)

A terrible quality of photo, but usually you never see a Sora, only hear them! We were very lucky that this one was walking through the water and grasses near the edge of the road when we were south west of Calgary two days ago. We were doing the annual May Species Count in the Priddis area, on a dull, overcast day. "A small, secretive bird of freshwater marshes, the Sora is the most common and widely distributed rail in North America. Its distinctive descending whinny call can be easily heard from the depths of the cattails, but actually seeing the little marsh-walker is much more difficult." From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sora/lifehistory