ML39212591

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

An unexpected surprise. Birds were far out in lake but could be seen well through Kowa scope at 60x. Both were females and in the distance looked somewhat similar to winter Ruddy Ducks...however, they were larger with a more rounded head and were a darker brown. Description: had a dark cap, dirty white cheeks, and high forehead. Bill was smaller and shorter than the other scoter species and appeared slightly concave when viewed from the side. Both upper and lower wings were dark and unmarked (seen in flight). Birds were larger than nearby Ruddy Duck and American Coot but smaller than a very close Surf Scoter. Was able to add the third and final scoter species to my West Point list with this find. Took some long distance phone/scope photos. Most were too blurred to be of much help but are available.

Technical information

Model

iPhone 6s

Lens

iPhone 6s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2

ISO

25

Focal length

4.2 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/2.2

Shutter speed

1/264 sec

Dimensions

2048 pixels x 1536 pixels

Original file size

512.07 KB