ML540286941

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Incredible find, possible NYC first. Potentially overwintering at this location, if indeed the same individual first sighted by Andrew Baksh in December, as is currently presumed. News broke today that a joint investigation by Joshua Malbin, Doug Gochfeld, and Sean Sime had resulted in a tentative suggestion of this ID, which prompted swift follow-up from the community. The bird had gone missing by the time I arrived. I spent over an hour and a half sweeping the area before I finally spotted it in flight at a distance, crossing to the far side of the vacant, overgrown lot between the waterfront and 50th Street. Chunky, starling-like silhouette was immediately apparent as it fluttered across the clearing, as was the reduced white in the tail and the overall sandy brown body plumage. I alerted the scattered searchers, and I soon spotted the meadowlark flying back across the lot towards the grassy stretch of shoreline that it has evidently been favoring. It was briefly visible on the ground when I arrived at that site, then made a short flight down the beach before continuing back to the cover of the open lot. I managed to secure a grand total of one useful photo. The distinctive narrow barring on the central tail feathers and upperparts, lacking the dark median stripes along the shafts seen in Eastern Meadowlark, enhances the overall paler impression. The outer rectrices show reduced white, and the combination of a fainter eye stripe and duskier cheek patch gave the head a low-contrast look

Technical information

Model

NIKON D7500

ISO

800

Focal length

240 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/4000 sec

Dimensions

1659 pixels x 1106 pixels

Original file size

339.88 KB