ML22441741

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Very late. As I was walking on the road out to the boat ramp, along the ditch perpendicular to the river, I was surprised to see this bird fly up from the cornfield, calling loudly, then quickly settle back down. I continued out to the river's edge, scanned the river for a while, and then went back to try to see this bird again. I methodically searched the cornfield through the scope, and I eventually found the bird and got good views. I also got some photos, two of which are below. I spent probably ten or fifteen minutes watching this bird, during which time it quietly foraged around in the muddy cornfield. The cornfield was full of small puddles (and it was totally snow-free, as we have had less than an inch of snow so far this winter), but most of the puddles had some ice, and the muddy ground was hardening up, as today was the first appropriately cold day in a long while. With snow predicted for tonight, hopefully this bird has the sense to head south before much longer. Don Clark saw a killdeer at the Chickering Farm in Walpole (labeled in eBird as "Sawyer Farm") on December 19, so perhaps this is the same bird.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SD850 IS

ISO

80

Focal length

5.8 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/2.8

Shutter speed

1/80 sec

Dimensions

2018 pixels x 1514 pixels

Original file size

858.38 KB