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Subject:

Virginia Rail, Sora @ Hughes Hollow 4/15

From:

Clive Harris

Reply-To:

Clive Harris

Date:

Fri, 15 Apr 2005 17:59:58 -0700

Disappointed at the weather forcing the cancellation of tomorrow's pelagic, I piled my 3 kids (Will, 9, Alex, 7 and Ellie, 5) into the van after work and headed up to Hughes Hollow.
 
About 30 yards past the spot where the Sora has been seen, we saw it walking around at the edge of the water.  We had excellent views of it, including it climbing up into the bushes - a really tame bird. My kids are getting a bit blase about Sora as they had similarly crippling looks at a pair of Sora last year at Huntley Meadows.
 
We turned round and walked along the cross-dike to look for frogs.  50 yards down the turn from the main dike the boys flushed a bird out from the left handside of the dike - another Sora they thought but I got a great look at a really bright Virginia Rail (almost a coral red bill on it).  Unfortunately this was a bit skittish and disappeared off into the wooded swamp.
 
Going back through the woods along Hunting Quarter Rd we saw a couple of Barred Owl but did not see the Y/C Night Herons that Jim Green had earlier told us he'd seen.
 
I also met a turkey hunter who said there would be youth turkey hunting tomorrow - but I imagine the area where the rails are will be pretty safe.
 
Regards
 
Clive Harris
Cabin John, MD

 

		
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