6 May 2023
This was the week the north wind blew and it rained until Friday. This week an American bittern and sora spent more than 7 days at pond-sized Panther Hollow Lake in Schenley Park. They were still there yesterday in sunshine.
After I saw the bittern in pouring rain last Friday the sora eluded me. On Sunday evening I drove to Schenley Park just before dusk and aaarrg! I left my binoculars at home! Too late to go get them I went down to the pond and hoped for a ‘naked eye’ sighting.
Soras (Porzana carolina) are in the rail family but aren’t nearly as “thin as a rail.” Instead they look plump but surprisingly small. They weigh as much as an American robin but have very short tails. Knowing what size to look for is key to finding one.
Standing silently at The Spot To See The Sora (birders’ pindrop) I watched the bird come out to feed at dusk among the reeds. Without binoculars he looked like this.
Charity Kheshgi had better looks than I did.
Before I left I heard the sora vocalizing after he’d walked back into the reeds. The Merlin app refused to identify him. (“That bird can’t be here so I’m not telling you it is.”) My Merlin recording is too muddy to post but this is what the sora sounded like:
(photos by Charity Kheshgi)
Today, I had a Virginia Rail sitting in my yard in Poland, Ohio. Merlin did identify it, as did an experienced birder friend. This was a first for us!