ML243098311

Age and sex

Adult, Unknown sex - 1

Media notes

Upon request, this is a more heavily cropped and brightened version of ML242141321

Observation details

A mid-sized tern (I thought it was a Sterna when I first spotted it), with long wings and a long tail; dark above with a black cap and a contrasty white forehead patch. Present from at least 6:05-6:10 AM according to pictures. I spotted this bird high overhead from the parking lot at May Street, between the lakes, and it soon thereafter had drifted over to the loose mob of frigatebirds, where it hung in the air with them for a few minutes, before disappearing over the treetops to the SE. Lighting was terrible as it was just a few minutes after "sunrise," with dismal, dark and dreary skies. After spotting the bird naked-eye and ID'ing it as a tern with binoculars, I alternated between watching the bird through my scope and taking terrible pictures with a very high ISO (3200-5000). During this span, I took 166 pictures, of which the best (the best, mind you!) are appended. Most photos of it were in a hanging glide, from below, which were not particularly useful. After looking at this bird through the scope, I thought it was a Bridled Tern and not its much more expected storm-driven counterpart (Sooty Tern). The bird did *not* appear to be black above when I was able to see the upperside, and I believe that the lighting should have rendered black reasonably well (the nearby frigates appeared black, at least). Multiple photographs of the bird flapping, when you can see the upperwing, also appear to confirm this. Additionally, the bird appeared to lack strong contrast to the underwings, but the shading of its undersides and worn flight feathers could have masked any discernible pattern. I debated leaving this bird as a "Bridled/Sooty Tern," but my field impressions and photos all seem to align best with Bridled Tern. See captions under the photos for more details. In the days that followed, I consulted David Muth and Dan Lane about this bird and both provided modest support of the photographic documentation, based largely upon the bird's shape, being more Sterna-like with narrower wings and a longer tail than Sooty Tern. As further circumstantial evidence, this storm produced multiple Bridled Terns along the coast of Mississippi, Alabama, and the western panhandle of Florida.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

3200

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/400 sec

Dimensions

471 pixels x 399 pixels

Original file size

126.99 KB