ML605407841

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

*MEGA* Fourth NYS record, found yesterday by Brendan F. and Taylor S. Seen very briefly today before the group it was in flew and, despite hours of effort, was never found again. The following happened in the span of about 20-30 seconds: The first thing that jumped out was the striking facial pattern of blacks and whites. The mask seemed blacker than any bird around, and the contrast seemed higher overall. I knew immediately I needed to take photos - I kept the bird in my scope until I was confident that I could find it bare eyed, and get it in my camera. After a few seconds, I gave it a shot (well, about 10). Next I tried to get the attention of the other birders present, but they were facing away. Before I had time to call them or take any other action, the whole group flew, did some circles, and landed in roughly the same area. I went to get others, and we started what turned into a 4 hour search, which didn’t turn up the bird again. Birds were much easier to search through in the morning when they were active and feeding. By noon or so, more of them wanted to roost, making scrutinization much more difficult. Photos show the black mask extending to the gape, a large white eyebrow and forehead, a thick black neckband, a thick black mask including auriculars.

Technical information

Model

NIKON D500

ISO

640

Focal length

420 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/2500 sec

Dimensions

1293 pixels x 926 pixels

Original file size

196.1 KB