ML319596841

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Shortly after leaving the Ventura Harbor we drove up on these two birds. We were not even going full speed yet and were relatively close to shore. Initially the two birds dove down showing white under tails as they dove. The size, structure, and diving motion made me think that these were murrelets. I turned the boat around and we relocated them. I had decent views through my binoculars and quickly narrowed it down to Ancient or Marbled Murrelet do to the white collar on the neck. After looking at them some more they showed more brownish tones around the face and appeared to possibly be in transition to alternate plumage with more brownish mottling. The bill was all dark. The top of the birds was dark with a mostly white belly and throat (some mottling seen in photos). The black on the face extended well down under the eye as compared to a Scripps's Murrelet. They flew off and we relocated them one more time but they then quickly few off again to the east mixing in with a large group of Grebes.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

ISO

640

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/8000 sec

Dimensions

1002 pixels x 621 pixels

Original file size

283.32 KB