ML273512761

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Behaviors

Flying

Observation details

One was seen associating with cattle along the edge of one of the larger pools around Tanqua, roughly at -22.657471, -48.025616. It was then disturbed at this location and flew across the lake to perch on the other side. It was still present when we departed the area. The bird was extremely large. It was first noticed by LNK. The bird was distant at this point, and Wood Stork was difficult to rule out. A closer inspection revealed an unusual amount of white on the wing for this species, and the question of Maguari Stork was raised. Some photos were taken at distance which confirmed that, although the head appeared dark, it was not black as in Wood Stork, plus the bill seemed short and lacked the distinctive hook. These photos also seemed to show the presence of bare red skin around the eye, but due to the distance and already hazy conditions it was difficult to judge for sure. We traveled around the bird and emerged up the bank in closer proximity. Unfortunately this action, while providing us with better views, also flushed the bird. In flight the bird clearly had a pale eye and noticeable red skin around the lore area. In flight the extent of the white in the wing was more noticeable and the bird also had long trailing red legs, diagnostic of this stork species in this area. As mentioned before the bird flew across the lake and perched again along the lake shore. To our knowledge this is the first record of this species at this site, and was a lifer for both DJB and LNK.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +1.4x III

ISO

400

Focal length

560 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/1250 sec

Dimensions

3951 pixels x 2748 pixels

Original file size

3.92 MB