Birds in Nature - images of wild birds by Richard Ditch

Subject: Sora (Porzana carolina)
Place: Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, AZ, USA
Date: November 1994
Equipment: Nikon 8008, Nikkor EDIF 400/5.6, tripod
Film: Fujichrome 100
Exposure: center weighted meter, natural light, no flash fill
Scan: Minolta Dimage, full frame

Commentary: Soras are small rails that are more common than most people realize. They are usually secretive and seldom seen. But in Arizona where there is much less habitat for them to hide in, they seem to be pushed out into the open where I see them a lot more often than I did in NJ (where there is abundant habitat for them) This bird surprised me by being so close that I had to back up and take off my 1.4x converter to get acceptable framing and focus with the 400. I also had to shot over a 4 foot high wire fence, so I couldn't get a lower viewpoint. I'm intrigued, again, by how well this bird blends in with the habitat, even here on an open edge by the water.