ML441179671

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

Bird 1

Observation details

One of these birds was spotted during the walk, in the marsh off the south end of the West Meadow, and at a distance I thought it looked fine for a pure Little Egret. In the scope I could only make out two long plumes off the head and then let walk participants look through the scope before it moved off into the marsh (out of view). After the walk I went back with a camera (and time to study), then realized pretty quickly after relocating the bird (and being at a much closer distance) that it also had bushy SNEG-like plumes. I was pretty surprised how hard it was to see these smaller plumes at times, so anyone looking for LIEGs in Maine this year should be very cautious. This first bird also had fairly recurved nuptial plumes, and a vivid purple-pink lore (feet were also a darker/warmer yellow than usual). While observing this LIEG-trait-dominant hybrid, a second hybrid egret flew in and vocally harassed the first bird. The second bird was an "obvious" SNEGxLIEG hybrid with prominent bushy plumes. The lores were a paler gray-pink. Structurally more like a SNEG too, with a shorter bill.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF300mm f/4L IS USM

ISO

100

Focal length

300 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/4.0

Shutter speed

1/640 sec

Dimensions

4307 pixels x 2289 pixels

Original file size

4.28 MB