ML513681061

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Bird first observed yesterday by Cliff Nesbitt, a cabin owner on the lake. He texted a photo to a friend of mine the same evening, asking "what is this bird?" , and the rest is history. Photos show all field marks well - black tipped flight feathers; pale tipped, bluish bill; black eyes and legs; compact, body structure with long wings; the combination suggesting a pigeon. The photo of the gull’s webbed foot tracks in the snow, show drag marks from the centre toe. The gull is actively taking fish scraps and bait from ice fishermen the length of the lake, in particular, the north end. It would occasionally sit on a roof of an ice shack, or on the ice, and would then fly off and out of sight, then come right back again. There were periods where the gull wasn't seen for over an hour. When we left, it was nowhere in sight, but could easily be back again tomorrow. This is the 3rd ever record for Saskatchewan.

Technical information

Model

NIKON D500

ISO

1600

Focal length

500 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/7.1

Shutter speed

1/8000 sec

Dimensions

1400 pixels x 996 pixels

Original file size

501 KB