ML132917951

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

This bird was seen in better light than either of the two birds that I saw earlier in the day, but it was also more distant as it flew ahead of the ship for a short time at 10:15 am at 44° 56' 58" N, 125° 07' 03" W. Like the other birds, this bird flew with quick flapping alternating with short glides and a bit of low arcing, all likely a result of the mild wind conditions. I again noted that this bird appeared to be a little smaller than a Northern Fulmar, and that it combined a stocky body with a long rear end, and wings that were not only slimmer and more tapered than those of a fulmar, but also more obviously angled backward at the wrists an bowed downward while the bird was gliding. Even though the light was better on this bird, the distance and the fact that it was seen mostly as it flew away from us precluded me from seeing the paler throat. The upperparts were generally dark brown yet the back contrasted as noticeably more gray than the rest of the upperparts. I have only a vague recollection now that I saw the pale patches on the underside of the primaries on this bird, but I am a bit more confident that I saw a darker wedge extending across the outer primaries. As such, much like the first bird that we saw today, my identification of this bird was primarily based on the bird’s size, shape, flight-style and the fact that it was mostly dark brown but with a conspicuously more grayish back. What I can say is that the structure characters and flight style were similar for all three birds that I saw today. [1/0/1]

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

800

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

765 pixels x 535 pixels

Original file size

473.03 KB