Casualty of the fog?

 

 

Today (24 July 2025) I noticed a somewhat unusual roadkill along the side of Highway 1 in Bodega Bay.  It's a bird you don't get to see up close very often, so I circled back to take a few photos.

This is a Sora (Porzana carolina), a type of rail.  Soras are somewhat secretive marsh birds, spending most of their time among wetland vegetation. You're more likely to hear one calling at night than to see one.

Here's a view showing the entire bird:

 

It's always a learning experience to see animals up close, so here are a few images.

 

Close-ups of the feathers, including the barred flanks (second photo below):
 

 

 

Short yellow bill: 

 

 
Yellowish legs and long toes:

 

 

And one more of the feather details: 

 

 

 

I don't know what happened, but perhaps the Sora was dispersing and dense fog overnight led to confusion, or to the Sora being in a place where you wouldn't normally expect it. 

Not often visible

  

It was very foggy this morning, so perhaps the conditions led to this road-killed bird that I encountered today (22 July 2024).  The reddish coloration caught my eye from a distance, and I realized it was a species you don't often get to see up close, so I thought I'd share a few photos.

Note the gray face, and the reddish slightly down-turned bill.

Here's the entire bird:

 

 

You can see the large feet and very short tail.  This is a Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola), a secretive marsh bird, more often heard than seen.

Virginia Rails have striking barred black-and-white flanks:

 

 

So although this was an opportunity to learn about a local species that's not often visible but living close by in marshes and wetlands, this sighting serves as another reminder for drivers to slow down.