ML430560601

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Great find this morning by Chris Chappell! These two Mergansers generally kept their distance from the flock of 10 Common Mergansers (the usual species here) on the lake except when pushed together by a single boat that was trolling on the lake. As evident in the group photo, the female RBME in the back are smaller in overall size, with darker and more mottled bodies, but paler heads with longer and more slender bills than the COME. More evident in the distant photos, the RBME have a broken white-eye ring, giving a bit of a dark line through the eye appearance. The transition from the orangey head to paler breast was more gradual than the clean line between the more rusty head and white breast of the COME. Bright white chin patch evident on the 9 female COME, whereas not much of a pale area at all on chin of RBME. Photos difficult with distance and glare.

Technical information

Model

NIKON D850

Lens

500.0 mm f/5.6

ISO

220

Focal length

500 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/800 sec

Dimensions

1166 pixels x 776 pixels

Original file size

706.53 KB