ML450941801

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Heard robins going berserk over something at the top of the hill in Kingsley Park. Went to check it out and spotted a small hunched raptor perched atop a leafless maple. First thought was "that's the fattest Merlin I've ever seen." I raised my binoculars and my heart instantly skipped a beat. The bird didn't seem overly bothered by the mob of robins, goldfinches, blackbirds and grackles berating it. A particularly bold robin plucked up the courage to get closer than the rest which drove the bird off at ~1:35. Landed in another bare tree about a half mile off where it remained for a couple minutes before taking off again in the direction of Mount Auburn Hospital and vanishing behind the tree line. Small compact raptor with light gray underparts and head, slaty blue-gray upperparts, small rounded head, tiny hooked beak, red eyes, orange feet and barred tail. In flight showed its elegant kite profile with long pointed wings and long tail. Subadult bird. Appears to be the 4th county record on eBird and part of a large wave of kites in the Northeast in the past week Edit 8:30 pm: noticed that an E. Mitchell reported this bird today as well. Seeing as I saw the bird fly off and their pic showed the bird in the same tree, I figure kudos on the find goes to them!

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

800

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/640 sec

Dimensions

1427 pixels x 1950 pixels

Original file size

315.27 KB