ML60600501

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

**Rare, presumed; first seen flying into the marsh and chasing a Snowy Egret in a large circle around the area before settling down in the inlet and feeding there. My first thought upon seeing the bird in flight was an immature Little Blue, though I quickly realized the bird was structurally almost identical to a Snowy Egret. The short bill, overall fairly dark plumage, black legs and feet, and blue lores all pointed my mind in the direction of a Little Blue hybrid. However, a couple features as outlined by Marshall Iliff point towards a hybrid with Tricolored including a pale line down the center of the neck that even shows some reddish hues, a clear delineation between the darker breast and paler belly, and blue lores also fit for Tricolored in high breeding. Feeding habits were within range of Snowy Egret, somewhat brisk walking through fairly shallow water, often followed by waiting 15 seconds or so before successive jabs into the water after prey. (Note this bird photographed in Essex County, MA on May 10)

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

200

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/1250 sec

Dimensions

5184 pixels x 3456 pixels

Original file size

5.63 MB