ML37858201

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Obvious phalarope which looked pleasingly plump and larger than a Red-necked, although there were no other shorebirds present for comparison. Substantially thick and tubular shaped bill. I looked for paler color at the base of the bill, but could not detect this using binoculars (also, lighting was poor). Dark eyes. Legs and feet not seen. Head was white except for some small patches of dark feathering on the crown and an obvious and well-defined dark eyepatch. There was a blush of reddish-brown on the lower throat. The foreneck and breast were otherwise white. Its back feathers, scapulars and upper wing coverts were molting in and looked fresh. These were pearly gray in color and covered most of the back. Its primaries and possibly some of the tertial feathers were blackish with pale edging. Flanks were mostly white. No vocalizations were heard. Did not see it fly. Foraged by picking at water surface and exposed rocky edge of middle pond. The bird was actively feeding most of the time and probably stayed along the edge because that was where it found food. It tolerated close approach because it probably had never encountered humans before. When we slowly approached to take photos, the bird was keenly aware of our presence and kept at least one eye on us at all times. It moved down the shoreline if we got too close, but it also moved closer to us if we simply sat still along the berm.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM

ISO

1000

Focal length

300 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/9.0

Shutter speed

1/640 sec

Dimensions

2646 pixels x 1890 pixels

Original file size

3.15 MB