ML414588361

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

It took an hour of searching the Ocean Parkway median and shoulders around Oak Beach before I finally encountered this bird, found 4/5 by Bob Proniewych. I was on foot, walking west along the south shoulder of the road, on my way back to my car to leave (dejectedly) for work, when I spotted a medium-sized shorebird in flight over the bay shoreline north of the parkway. I crossed the road, found an access point through the scrubby vegetation to the beach, and was about descend an embankment when I heard a bird vocalize (a rapid, liquid pip-pip-pip-pip-pip...). I then saw a bird fly up from the direction of the shoreline and over the scrub back toward the road. I reversed course and was able to watch the bird land on the north side of the median. A quick look through binoculars confirmed this bird as the species in question: mid-sized shorebird with a long neck, small, dove-like head with large eyes, fairly long yellowish legs, and a plumage that was strongly patterned dorsally with a generally buffy coloration. I returned to my car and was able to make further observations from within over the course of 20 minutes as the bird foraged along the median and shoulders of the road, often very close to and even on the roadway (worrisome!). I also observed a few additional short flights.

Technical information

Model

DMC-FZ150

ISO

100

Focal length

108 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.2

Shutter speed

1/500 sec

Dimensions

2737 pixels x 1923 pixels

Original file size

6.98 MB