ML259071481

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

This bird was considerably smaller than nearby DCCO, with a much smaller bill. After reviewing photos from Richard, I have changed the ID to NECO. This ID has been confirmed by others from these photos. First county record! In the immortal words of Homer Simpson "WHOO-HOO!" Thanks to Rich Brown for being there with his camera which is so much better than mine! If I had taken these shots the perched shot would just show a series of dark blobs and the flight shots would just be blurs, tails or empty sky! EDITED TO ADD: Recently I was looking at the species map for NECO, to see where else it had been reported in the Central Valley. I noticed that a third birder had claimed the bird that Richard Brown and I had seen on an eBird list. The interesting thing is that Richard and I were the only two present when I spotted the bird and NO ONE who had been there earlier had called out "NEOTROPIC CORMORANT!" This third person who is claiming the NECO on their list left at 9:45, I did not spot the bird until AFTER 10:00, when Rich and I were the ONLY two people present! I went back the following day and did not see this bird, and went back again the day after that and did find it. The only person to join me that third day was Jim Gain. Jim decided that the bird was too far away and, despite the fact that it appeared smaller than the DCCOs sitting nearby, he was not going to count it because his photos were inconclusive. So, the ONLY person, besides Rich Brown and myself, who can legitimately claim this bird on an eBird list is Jim Gain. Anyone else who puts it on his or her eBird list is, in my opinion, nothing more than a "stringer" and is claiming birds that MIGHT have been seen by others while he or she was also present (or birds that were seen shortly after he or she left).

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

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/8000 sec

Dimensions

420 pixels x 299 pixels

Original file size

44.84 KB