ML160006051

Age and sex

Juvenile, Unknown sex - X

Media notes

Bird was circling just off shore at Sandbridge Beach, Virginia, about 1 mile north of Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Image taken at 400mm on full frame camera and cropped about 100%.

Observation details

We're on vacation and staying in a rental house on the beach in Sandbridge, Virginia. I was making dinner on the grill when I noticed this unusual bird circling over the ocean. I grabbed my camera and took as many photos as I could. It was 6:34 PM and the bird circled slowly over the water for a minute until being frightened by a Marine helicopter that flew by. It dove towards the water until the helicopter passed, then it regained altitude and circled slowly northward up the beach. All attached images were taken at 400mm on a full frame camera and cropped 80-100%. I used the All About Birds website to ID the bird. It looks like the juvenile stage 1 images they show.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

ISO

1250

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/18.0

Shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

1024 pixels x 682 pixels

Original file size

151.76 KB