ML237416041

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

A "Black" Brant photographed by Curtis A. Marantz on 19 May 2020 at the Walker Ponds on the San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Riverside County, California.

Observation details

I spotted this bird on Pond W1-3 within five minutes of my arrival, and it continued in about the same place for the entirety of my visit, in that it was very near where I first saw it when I last looked just before I left this site. While here, the Brant walked around in the shallow water foraging on unseen items that were at the surface or on the floor of the pond. I never saw this bird fly or even flap its wings, and it was silent when under observation. This was a small goose that was not much larger than nearby Mallards, yet it had a somewhat different shape that combined a relatively small, triangular bill that tapered from a deep base to a blunt tip along a culmen that was relatively straight. The forehead weas sloping and the crown had a flattened appearance, which together resulted in this bird having a somewhat angular appearance to the relatively small head that is unusual among geese. The neck was shorter and stockier than those of the larger geese, but the body was notably plump, full-chested, and with a posture that was only slightly more upright than horizontal. I had a hard time seeing the structure of the closed wings, but I noted that the tail was quite short and almost entirely obscured by the uppertail and undertail coverts. The legs were relatively short and stout, but I cannot remember seeing the feet clearly even though I saw them at times while the bird walked in the shallow water. This was a rather dark bird overall, with the head, neck, and breast quite blackish, and with the breast contrasting with the sooty-brown that characterized the belly from its sharply demarcated junction with the breast back to the undertail coverts. The flanks were clouded with whitish or pale gray in a series of broad and somewhat blurry concentric bands that contrasted with what appeared to be sooty bases to these feathers. The uppertail and undertail coverts were snow-white, and, as noted above, the undertail coverts were sharply demarcated from the dark belly and flanks. The back and closed wings were rather dark. Although maybe not quite as blackish as the neck and breast, they were at least close to the same color, and with little or no contrast evident. The white uppertail-coverts contrasted not only with the dark back and wings, but also with what appeared to be a short tail that was equally dark. Finally, I noted a white collar that was well-defined and seemingly broader across the front of the neck before tapering at least slightly on the sides, but I did not think it connected across the back of the neck. I also thought there were some internal markings that were blackish and appearing as horizontal lines. The bill and legs both appeared to be dull black, and the eyes were also rather dark, but I cannot now remember if I noted brown tones.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

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

ISO

320

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/1250 sec

Dimensions

1246 pixels x 834 pixels

Original file size

1.6 MB