ML216457321

Age and sex

Adult, Unknown sex - 2

Behaviors

Flying

Media notes

Pair of adult Emperor Geese photographed in flight by Curtis A. Marantz on 12 March 2020 near the mouth of Arroyo del Oso, San Luis Obispo County, California. These birds were located on this particular rock the previous day by Petra Clayton, but they were almost certainly the same two birds that were initially reported at the nearby Northern Elephant Seal rookery on 9 January 2020 by James Mentgen,

Observation details

These are undoubtedly the same two birds initially found at the Elephant Seal Rookery south of Point Piedras Blancas on 9 Jan. They were found again mid-day yesterday by Petra and Jack Clayton. The birds preened most of the time they were observed, but were flushed once from their perch by a breaking wave. These distinctive geese had the white head and nape, black chin, throat and foreneck, other wise slate-gray plumage and white tail associated with this species. The eyes appeared dark and the feet orange with black nails. The bills showed a blueish colored base, preceded by a pink band, and had a yellow nail with a black tip. The lower mandible was black. Birds of North America indicates these bill colors are found on sub-adult birds. The wing coverts were slate-gray. Individual covert feathers showed slightly darker central shaft streaks and thin white fringes preceded by a slightly more prominent dark band. the body color was slate-gray and had horizontal dark streaks. The photos seem to show a brownish tinge to the sides, but this isn't shown in other observers photos I've seen. Prior to these two birds the last county record was in Dec 1968 and the only CBRC reviewed record, which was accepted, spanned from 12 Dec 1966 to 12 Feb 1967. (Photos)

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

ISO

160

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/1250 sec

Dimensions

2903 pixels x 1918 pixels

Original file size

6.68 MB