ML565267521
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Observation details
Possible 1st state record, but one long anticipated based on records from the region. Initially observed with the 1st year Glaucous X Herring hybrid. In the field, I noted its size near that of Herring Gull and its dark slaty gray back and scapulars. I thought it had deep pink legs but was not sure, and the glaring eye along with thick mottling almost like streaks caught my interest. Slaty-backed Gull crossed my mind, but I was also considering possible hybrid combinations. I studied the bird with my 10x binoculars and 22.5x hand-held scope. Thankfully, I photographed the bird before all the gulls flew as I approached. Later, I could see in the photos a wide white tertial and secondary skirt, pale brown and pale fringed wing coverts, a glaring white eye surrounded by dark feathering giving the bird a mean appearance. The bill seems small for Slaty-backed Gull, but other characters fit, e.g. short legs and pot-bellied appearance.
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
- 1/800 sec
- Dimensions
- 4800 pixels x 3200 pixels
- Original file size
- 3.56 MB