ML127837881

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

I first saw this bird in flight at the water's edge at 9:38am, roughly parallel with the condos closest to the ocean (in Santa Cruz county). The bird flew south and landed on the beach several times, sometimes amidst Sanderlings, and eventually into Monterey County. Eventually it flew all the way to the river mouth on a small island with several Caspian Terns and Bonaparte's Gulls. It flew back into Santa Cruz along the dunes three times at 10:06, 10:23, and 10:48, but returned along the river back to the island. At 10:53 it flew south from the island into Monterey County where we lost sight of it. Unmistakable; this was a small/medium-sized tern, similar in size to a Bonaparte's Gull. It had a stout black bill, shorter than on an Elegant Tern, and a very round head with a solid black cap that extended from the bill over the eye to the nape. The upperparts were pale, remarkably similar to a Caspian Tern, and becoming paler towards the end of the tertials. The primaries were long, about the length of the rest of the wing, and pale silver, slightly darker than the upperparts. The body was otherwise white and the feet were black. In flight the wingbeats were very buoyant compared to other terns and the wings appeared mostly pale, with only a little dark along the outer primaries. Photos from Monterey County:

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS REBEL T3

Lens

EF35-80mm f/4-5.6 III

ISO

100

Focal length

46 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/125 sec

Dimensions

2096 pixels x 1422 pixels

Original file size

121.62 KB