ML20319261

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Initially discovered by Jimmy Zabriskie around 1:30pm today at the Calle del Norte Rio Grande bridge, and initially was reported as a Little Blue heron (the bird was alone, and size was difficult to judge, plus, this bird is in a dull plumage, making it somewhat difficult to determine to be a Reddish Egret at first glance). I arrived at approximately 3:15 pm to see the bird fishing and associating with several Great and Snowy Egrets approximately 0.25 miles down stream from the bridge. I ended up biking down the entrance road to Mesilla Valley Bosque SP (which runs adjacent to the river) to the yellow gate and posts on the left. From here I walked to the river bank where Jimmy was already taking photos of the target bird and the Egrets were feeding across from me on the far shore, providing plenty of photo opportunities. We were joined by Marcy Scott at about 4:00 pm. This bird was slightly smaller and noticeably slimmer than a Great Egret, and significantly larger than a Snowy Egret (both species were feeding near the Reddish Egret, providing direct comparisons). Overall coloration was a monotone powdery grayish blue (more gray than blue). There was a slight ruddy cast to the head and neck. The bill was relatively long (approximately 1.5 times the length of the head). The color of the bill was slightly abnormal. At times it appeared to be a pale orangish pink, and others it appeared all dark. Regardless of lighting, the tip of the bill was dark, and the majority of the bill was paler. I suspect this orangish coloration represents what is left of the gape, though I am not entirely convinced it wasn't just an artifact of the relatively harsh afternoon lighting. When cloud cover was present, the base of the bill lacked the orangish hue and appeared to be a pale gray. The bird's legs were a dull gray (similar to the bird's overall color and the color of the bill's base), and gave the bird a long-legged appearance. Seen doing the characteristic "prancing" feeding method a few times briefly. I am unable to find any previous records for this species in Dona Ana county in the NMOS Field Notes or eBird, leading me to think it is a first county record. Many thanks to Jimmy and Marcy for getting word about this bird out.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot S2 IS

Focal length

72 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/4.0

Shutter speed

1/640 sec

Dimensions

1374 pixels x 1054 pixels

Original file size

577.6 KB