ML288564721

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

While I was up at the Lighthouse, on the last stint of Shark Watch for the day, I received some crackly radio transmissions from down below. Unfortunately, my radio’s batteries died just then, so I had no idea what the others below were trying to communicate to me. When I finally finished Shark Watch, just before 6PM, I walked down the hill, and met Ryan towards the base. He informed me that what they had been trying to tell me was that a Connecticut Warbler had turned up in Twitville, an area near East Landing with a rather dense stand of Tree Mallow, Lavatera arborea. This is an area that has hosted many rarities over the years, and I quickly walked towards it. It did not take me long to relocate the Connecticut Warbler, but it took me a while longer to get a decent look at it; every time I would flush it, it would immediately dart to the next Lavatera. Eventually it flushed out, and paused on a low rock wall long enough for me to get a good look, and snap some photos of it. It then flew out over the Marine Terrace, and put down in a patch of English Plantain. I quickly headed over to where it had landed, signaling to Ryan, who happened to be walking down the Cart Path from the house. I inadvertently flushed the bird from its hiding spot, and watched as it flew around in circles, then flew back towards Twitville. Instead of once again trying to relocate the bird for better looks, I decided my looks had been good enough, and headed back towards the houses. Description. A large, chunky Warbler, generally green above and yellow below, with a bold white eye-ring. Head: The crown, nape and face were greenish-gray, while the throat and chin were white. The cut-off between the two was not very distinct. The eye-ring, which surrounded the dark eye, was complete and bold white, contrasting markedly with the rest of the face. The bill was rather large, and pink. Body and Remiges: The underparts were entirely bright yellow, while the upperparts were dull olive-green. The legs were rather long, thick (for a Warbler), and pink. The undertail coverts were long, reaching to just short of the tail tip, while the tail was short, giving the bird a front-heavy appearance. The wings and tail were uniform in color with the back. Voice: I did not hear the bird vocalize. Behavior: The bird was very furtive, sneaking from Lavatera to Lavatera by flying low and quickly.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 40D

ISO

800

Focal length

320 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/400 sec

Dimensions

1328 pixels x 1024 pixels

Original file size

1.36 MB