ML122348651

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

Wading/foraging shallow water and exposed mud

Observation details

Bird of a life time! I want to thank my kind and generous friend who unselfishly gave up a few hours of his busy schedule to drive me the last leg of my 4-hour one-way trip so I had a chance to see this bird. Hundreds of people have now seen it. There isn't much new for me to post here that hasn't already been said, but I am writing this entry so in 20 years I can remember how special this bird was. General impression: Large, wading shorebird, with long, striking red/orange legs and red & black lower mandible. Slightly smaller in build than the Greater Yellowlegs in its company. Overall gray-brown coloration, with some barring on the flanks & belly. Crown gray-brown, white supercilium, black lores, dark eye. Undertail finely barred. Primary feathers with white edging. No wing bars. Ventral side of wing white, with faint black "crescent" at the base of the primaries. Foraging behavior: A very "busy" bird, swimming energetically, actively taking food off of the surface and by probing the mud. The bird often swam in deep water, and twice I saw a short "whirling" spin, reminiscent of a Phalarope. Due to the long bill, it seldom submerged its head, but one of my photos revealed that it did so. It also walked or swam in more shallow water, tilting its head and sweeping its bill. Other behaviors: Preening and body "bobbing," similar to Yellowlegs. Flight: I only saw a brief flight of 3-4 seconds, flying toward me, so I did not see the white patch on the back, similar to a Dowitcher's. Vocalization: I heard no vocalization due to the distance away, but one of my photographs showed that the bird appeared to be calling in response to a Yellowlegs' call. Habitat: Wetland, with stumps and woody debris, some shallow water, some deeper water, exposed mud, algae covering portions of the water. Photos: During my observations, the bird remained, for the most part, in the back portion of the wetland, at approximately 100 yards away. Some birders got stunning photos at close range and I congratulate them. My photos are adequate for documentation purposes and I attempted to show foraging behavior and general characteristics of the bird in them. Due to the bird's distance away, my photos are heavily cropped, although taken at 500-600 mm. Final Note: An elegant, beautiful bird, and I am happy so many people got to see it!

Technical information

Model

NIKON D850

ISO

1600

Focal length

550 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/10.0

Shutter speed

1/400 sec

Dimensions

907 pixels x 999 pixels

Original file size

807.33 KB