ML576306261
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Observation details
I'd seen this duck first as people were filtering in to look at the, until now, pretty rare Stilt Sandpiper. I called it a black duck because...what were the odds. Light head, two-toned against a darker body. However, after a call last night and a long discussion with Matt Juskowich, he introduced the idea that this was a Mottled Duck. Looking at photos by other friends who were there, compared with All About Birds and other sites, I got convinced that Matt was almost definitely correct. I sent the best photo off to my longtime best friend birder who not only has lived around Mottleds in Florida for over a decade, but who also has a nice history with the Aviary, ABA, and other bird/conservation organizations that give him a lot of insight into the birds, and he confirmed the photo was a Mottled Duck. While the head features all look good enough, I was struck by the body plumage being mottled rather than scalloped as with a black duck. The feather edging and central line are dark, and overall the feather composition matches Mottled Duck to a tee to me. Thanks to Matt for pointing this out to me!
Technical information
- Model
- Canon EOS 60D
- Lens
- EF75-300mm f/4-5.6
- ISO
- 800
- Focal length
- 300 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire
- f-stop
- f/9.0
- Shutter speed
- 1/320 sec
- Dimensions
- 609 pixels x 406 pixels
- Original file size
- 292.44 KB