ML115164921

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

The ongoing juvenile Parasitic Jaeger was seen through my scope while standing at the replica Split Rock Lighthouse along the north shore of Pittsburgh Point between 7:59 AM - 8:17 AM -- looking northwest towards Havasu Lake, CA. It was swimming very far offshore (not sure if in Arizona or California waters), occasionally preening and flapping its wings. We missed seeing it when it took flight. This bird was seen and photographed from a boat by other birders at around 9 AM at the north end of the lake in California waters. We had good but very distant scope views. Due to the extreme distance, my photos were very poor, but helped a little in confirming the ID. Our best views were using the scope. The jaeger appeared to be about the size of a Ring-billed Gull (based on Ring-billed Gulls we saw at a similar distance), had a slim body and small rounded head. The bill was fairly slim, short, and pale, with what appeared to be a dark tip in photos. Overall the bird was fairly light brown in color, with no obvious markings. The head and neck appeared lighter brown than the darker wings. The flanks and undertail coverts appeared fairly pale. The dark eyes contrasted greatly with the lighter brown head. When preening, I could see the underside of the wide tail, slightly wedge-shaped, with dark longer central tail feathers (noticeable, but not extremely longer). The underside of the tail appeared pale, with dark outer edges at the tip of the tail. When it flapped its wings while still in the water, my wife could see a noticeable white flash near the base of the primaries on the underside of the wing (via scope).

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

1/250 sec

Dimensions

1805 pixels x 1293 pixels

Original file size

791.03 KB