ML106446811

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Seen from Hwy 49 to the south in pond immediately west of Ibis/Stilt pond. First naked-eye impression was too tall for a crow, more the slenderness and height of Little Blue Heron. A cormorant didn't really enter my mind until binoculars showed the shape to be just that - BUT the slenderness of everything about the bird just didn't fit. There were no other birds of any kind for reference and the distance of course would make size reference a bit tenuous. A zoom lens camera was used to obtain these shots to allow further blowing up of the bird. The tail seems longer and narrower than DCCO; as goes the head and neck silhouette; the body is not the expected thick,dumpy bulk of a DCCO. The bill shape is thinner and lacks the slight bulbous tip of a DCCO and it is gray in color except for a darker tip and a bit of orangish color to the very proximal area of the beak. Though the beak commissure isn't directly discernible in the photos to see if it ends in and angle of the NECO or broad shape of a DCCO, the photo of the bill elevated mildly does exhibit the black of throat extending forward well into the intermandibular area - not the broad yellow-orange of that area of a DCCO. The eye seems to sit forward more on the face giving a relatively longer profile to the side of the head than a DCCO. Without the size reference of another bird (especially a DCCO) and with the distance involved - this feels just slightly an uncomfortable call - but each aspect separately al;ways seems to point to an NECO.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

ISO

80

Focal length

215 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.5

Shutter speed

1/320 sec

Dimensions

4000 pixels x 3000 pixels

Original file size

1.34 MB