Black Noddy (minutus Group) - David Flumm
Report

Contributor

Date

Location

Ballina Head
Ballina, New South Wales, Australia
Media from this location Illustrated Checklist
Map
Map Coordinates: -28.8676674, 153.5925342
Age
Not specified
Sex
Not specified

Observation details

I arrived at the Lookout for a seawatch and immediately saw a Common Noddy feeding amongst a group of Common and Crested Terns and some Silver Gulls over a shoal of Tuna about 1km SE of me. I set my Swarovski telescope on the group and immediately saw the Common Noddy feeding alongside a Black Noddy. I took the photos here taken on maximum zoom with my Nikon Coollpix P1000 camera. The Black Noddy was noticeably smaller and blacker than the brown Common Noddy feeding alongside and it showed a glowing white forehead and crown. It was also flapping faster than the Common Noddy. I sent a WhatsApp to the local group of birders and then phoned Steve McBride and June Harris, both of whom subsequently arrived and saw the bird. It finally departed north an hour later but had been in view virtually the whole time.

Technical information

Model
COOLPIX P1000
ISO
400
Focal length
539 mm
Flash
Flash did not fire
f-stop
f/8.0
Shutter speed
1/500 sec
Dimensions
1440 pixels x 1080 pixels
Original file size
176.31 KB