9/17 : Unusual bird find the right place for ice skating?

This morning epitomized the perils of migration. My co-worker Adam, of the Brooklyn-based Prospect Park Alliance Natural Resources Crew, had quite an unusual experience that I had the unfortunate luck in not witnessing the amusing occurence. Adam exits our NRC office inside the skating rink building and sees a chicken-like bird perched on a wooden beam above him, of several wood beams that hold the walls around the ticket line space for the skating fee booth just inside the main entrance. ( No, it's not the expected Virginia Rail we are so accustomed to seeing waylaid). Its a late juv/youngadult SORA!
Obviously , the Sora gets spooked when Adam exited the office and it subsequently flies inside the building to the other side, towards the inner entrance to the rink; it slams into the top plexiglass wall and falls on its back, stunned on the floor. Adam goes to the bird, picks it up and holds it, massaging it. Rather than bring it into the office, he takes it outside to the enclosed picnic area, still massaging tenderly the knocked out Sora. It starts to awaken. Laying the bird on the rink railing, the Sora perks up and starts walking along atop the rail ( hmmm, typical....perhaps there is some relevance here), looking like it recuperated fully. Soon after, it takes off and flies across the rink oval, landing near the far corner of the fence near the LaBella (rink) cove that is phragmite choked. I went to look there inside the weed infested fence corner  , didn't find my prize but sort of relieved for the rare bird. Hopefully,its safe and OK.

Peter
Brooklyn,NY

NOTE: this is the ninth Sora record going back to 1953.

 

Picture from Adam's cell phone sent to me