ML345558781
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Media notes
One member of a flock of eight Black Turnstones, this one in full, alternate plumage, photographed by Curtis A. Marantz on 26 May 2021 at Obsidian Butte, south end Salton Sea, Imperial County, California.
Observation details
I spotted these birds along the barnacle beach to the west shortly after we began scanning the beach from our usual overlook along the northeastern shore of Obsidian Butte. We then walked down along the beach to get better views and some photos. Although the turnstones flew twice, they did not go far, and with some effort I was able to get good views and photos showing each of the birds as they foraged along the beach, sat on the rocks, and briefly in flight. I heard on a few occasions a dry rattle that is faster and with the component elements harder to distinguish than those of a Ruddy Turnstone. I also heard a few softer contact calls, but in general, these birds were relatively quiet. These birds were relatively small shorebirds, yet they were in the “medium-sized” category, so it was obvious that they were something unexpected, and even from the distance at which our initial observations were made, it was clear that they were Black Turnstones. All eight birds were similar in their size, shape, and general patterns. Each bird had a relatively slim, short bill that tapered from a base of medium depth for a shorebird to a pointed tip along a culmen that was straight and with the lower mandible angling upward to the tip to create a wedge-shaped bill that is unique among shorebirds. The overall structure of these birds was also unique, given a relatively steep forehead that met the gently rounded crown at a rounded junction that was comparable to that where the crown met the nape, and together imparting a blocky appearance to a head that was small relative to the bird’s size. Accentuating the small head was a neck that was short and inconspicuous, and also a body that was conspicuously plump, full-chested, and with a posture that was slightly more upright than horizontal and with a somewhat hunch-backed appearance to the body overall. I thought the wings were relatively long, but I cannot now recall if the wingtips reached beyond the tip of the tail or fell short of it. I was unable to see the tail well when the birds were on land, but when I saw the birds in flight, I could see that the tail was quite short. These birds had relatively short, stout legs for shorebirds, and in this respect, they were more like plovers than sandpipers. The plumage was well-marked even though the coloration was dominated by dull blackish and white. There was also some variation in the plumage among the birds, with one or two birds in fine, alternate plumage with white markings on the head and breast, but others were more uniformly black through the head, neck, and upperparts. On the best-marked bird, there was white frosting through the superciliary region, a diffuse spot of white on the lower part of the face at the base of the bill, and white speckling on either side of the breast, but the head, neck, breast, and sides were otherwise dull black with a somewhat uneven appearance. The dullest birds were more uniformly blackish through the forehead, crown, face, back and sides of the neck, and across the breast and sides. All eight birds had the belly, flanks, and undertail-coverts white, and with a sharp demarcation between the black breast and sides, and the white of the belly and flanks, albeit with some fine, black speckling along the demarcation. Returning to the upperparts, all eight birds had the back and closed wings rather black with a somewhat uneven appearance that appeared to reflect darker centers contrasting with somewhat paler fringes that were broad and diffuse. I did notice on one or two birds, narrow fringes of white at the tips of some of the inner greater-coverts that appeared as slightly broken, V-shaped markings, but in general, these birds were less boldly marked than were three birds that I saw at Salt Creek a few weeks earlier. Although I saw no indication of the complex pattern on the wings, rump, and tail, when the birds were on land, when I saw the birds in flight, I noted a white stripe somewhere on each wing, a white stripe down the center of the back to the rump, and white at the base of the tail, all quite striking and sharply demarcated, but I suspect my photos will show this pattern better than I can remember from the field. All eight birds had black bills, dark eyes that lacked contrast with the plumage that surrounded them, and what appeared to be rather blackish legs and feet, which was somewhat different than what I had noted on the Salt Creek birds, which appeared dull purplish; however, I am not sure of the blackish color on these birds reflected soiling or instead darker skin.
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
- 1/2000 sec
- Dimensions
- 2107 pixels x 1360 pixels
- Original file size
- 4.45 MB