ML234686261

Age and sex

Adult, Unknown sex - 1

Media notes

This photo displays the white primaries the best. Whereas COTE wings are uniformly light gray with more conspicuous black on the tips of the primaries, ARTE wings are two-toned with gray scapulars and secondaries and white primaries. ARTE have a very thin black trailing edge that wouldn't be visible from this distance, while the black on COTE is extensive enough to be detected from far away. The bird was simply too far away to ascertain the exact length of the tail, but it appears pretty long in this photo.

Observation details

Perfect conditions for Arctic Tern today -- strong ESE winds in mid-May. I maybe should put this sighting down as Common/Arctic Tern due to how far away the bird was, but I feel that more features aligned with Arctic than Common. The dark gray underside (darker than typical COTE), very short head/neck making the wings appear too far forward on the body, white primaries lacking in a noticeable black edge (whereas COTE wings are uniformly gray with more conspicuous black on the primary tips), and slender profile all fit ARTE better than COTE. I think the white primaries are the most diagnostic feature for ARTE. Descriptions are included in the comments sections of each of my photos below:

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS REBEL T5

Lens

EF75-300mm f/4-5.6

ISO

160

Focal length

300 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/2000 sec

Dimensions

545 pixels x 363 pixels

Original file size

36.16 KB