ML132883611
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Observation details
After missing this bird for the first half of our visit, Chet spotted the scoter on the lake mid-morning, after which we were able to get good views from a moderate distance and some mediocre photos as it moved about the lake. I never saw this bird dive, but our inability to locate it earlier was presumably due either to its diving actively or its mid-morning arrival on the lake. This was a medium-sized duck with a large head and bill, a short and noticeably stocky neck, a plump body, and a short tail that was held cocked upward. The bill was shoe-like in its shape, given that it tapered from a heavy base to a blunt tip along a culmen that was straight, if not with a slight bump in the middle. I also noted that the feathering extended vertically downward at the base of the bill as opposed to extending outward as it does on a White-winged Scoter. The forehead was inconspicuous and the crown had a gently rounded to somewhat flattened appearance on a head that seemed large for a duck. The body was also plump and compact, and the short tail was held upward at about a 45º angle behind the body. I saw the wings briefly when this bird flapped once, but when closed, they seemed to reach right about to the base of the tail. The plumage was generally quite dark. The forehead, crown, and nape were black, and their demarcation with the face was relatively well-defined at the upper edge of the eye and the auriculars. There was a rounded patch of whitish just inside the base of the bill, and a smaller and more diffuse patch on the auriculars, with these two separated by a darker region around and below the eye. The lower part of the face and neck were dusky brown, and the upperparts and whatever was visible of the closed wings appeared sooty and unmarked. I also noted no pale patches in the wings when this bird flapped once, and even the tail, undertail coverts, sides, and flanks contrasted little with the upperparts. The bill appeared to be entirely black, but it had just enough of a sheen to appear paler in places depending on the light. The eyes appeared to be dark brown, and what little I could see of the upper legs appeared to be dingy, but not exceptionally dark.
Technical information
- Model
- Canon EOS 7D
- ISO
- 200
- Focal length
- 400 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire, auto
- f-stop
- f/6.3
- Shutter speed
- 1/1600 sec
- Dimensions
- 1082 pixels x 863 pixels
- Original file size
- 817.9 KB