ML25286771

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

Note bill color in sunlight compared to MALL. Chestnut edging of contour feathers produces a neatly scalloped pattern.

Observation details

Continuing individual first found yesterday by Kathleen MacAulay. Potential first state record. More than a dozen observers were present when I arrived, but none of them knew where the bird was at that moment. The sun had emerged from the morning overcast / fog and since we were looking SW to W at 100s of ducks on both sides of the open channel, the harsh lighting made them look darker than normal in some cases. After nearly an hour of searching with several 'false alarms' I spotted the Mottled on the east side of the channel, about 10 meters S of the Main St bridge abutment. We watched it swim, bathe, flap its wings, and preen after it climbed onto the ice west of the channel. Numerous photos were taken between 3:43 and 3:53 PM. SIZE: similar in size to average MALL and clearly smaller than ABDU. GENERAL: body darker than female MALL, but clearly not as dark as ABDU; walked side by side with and then swam with ABDU once, but otherwise did not associate with them. BILL: dull yellow [photos show bright yellow bill when bird in full sunlight], spatulate, and unmarked except for dark nail and ~1 cm black gape mark. IRIDES: dark. LEGS and FEET: orange. HEAD and NECK: brown eyeline stops at auriculars and does not extend onto nape; face and neck buff-colored with no streaking on throat and almost indiscernible fine streaking on auriculars and neck-sides, becoming coarser and more coalesced on nape; distinct demarcation between body and neck. BACK, SCAPULARS, and WING-COVERTS: dark brown with rich buff-brown edging producing elegant scalloping. TAIL: dark brown with similar edging, no curl to tail. BREAST and FLANKS: dark brown with scalloping similar to that of upperparts. UPPERWINGS: dark brown with dark navy blue speculum showing thin whitish posterior edge, but absolutely no white on anterior or lateral margins of speculum. UNDERWINGS: white wing linings dramatically contrast with grayish-brown ventral surface of remiges. VOCALIZATIONS: none detected. Addendum 08 December 2016: Documentation unanimously accepted by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union Records Committee (vote 10–0) as first state record, Anoka County, 15–16 February 2016.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM

ISO

1000

Focal length

420 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/10.0

Shutter speed

1/2000 sec

Dimensions

1708 pixels x 2135 pixels

Original file size

2.98 MB