ML520380401

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

At around 9:15 I was at Bush Terminal and scoped what I thought might be a Little Gull in a flock of Bonaparte's feeding out in the direction of Columbia Pier. I immediately put out word and asked for help, since it was well beyond camera range. And then of course when I looked up from my phone, the whole flock was dissipating, appearing to head south. I had only managed a few seconds' look at it and although I was pretty sure, I knew I was not sure enough and was going to have to let it go if I couldn't find it again. I spent the next two hours or so looking at spots along the waterfront south of there. For a while the water was covered by fog and I just couldn't find the birds anywhere. I chatted with Anthony at Veterans Pier awhile while we were both looking, and then decided to give it one last shot from this location. When I arrived I immediately realized there were a ton of Bonaparte's feeding out over the water, which I took as a hopeful sign. I started to scan through them closely, and after about 15 minutes saw what I thought could be my bird flying in a feeding flock in the direction of the Verrazano Bridge. Learning from my last encounter I carefully stayed on the bird as it banked and flew in a bunch of angles until I was sure I was really seeing it: velvety-dark underwings with sharply contrasting white, rounded wingtips, and clearly smaller size than Bonaparte's. I called Anthony and he hustled down from Veterans to find it. I was really anxious that I might still be hallucinating this bird, but when he showed up he got on it too within five minutes and I could finally relax and celebrate. In the meantime I had called Doug and he put out word on WhatsApp. Not long after, Anthony Ciancimino picked up two and then three birds from the Staten Island side. About ten people eventually came and got on the bird, and Ryan was able to point out and confirm that there were at least two visible from our side as well, one seen on the water while another was floating in a different area. I may have gotten shots of the third as well, a possible immature bird. But at least two for sure. Others got much better photos than me, but I'm adding my poor ones. State bird and county bird #325, and only the second time I have seen one!

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS R7

Lens

RF100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM

ISO

1250

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/2000 sec

Dimensions

1513 pixels x 1009 pixels

Original file size

1.04 MB