Described as "secretive" birds and rarely seen, we have a pair of Sora Porzana carolina living in the wetland around the pond. I saw a lone egg a few days ago, and thought it was the start of a clutch. Today, this little black cotton-ball with orange/red tufts under his big beak appeared! Soras start incubating eggs when they have only a few in the nest, and go on laying eggs (one a day) until they have around a dozen eggs. Consequently, each chick hatches on different day. One parent tends to the hatchlings and the other continues incubating the remaining eggs until each hatches.
