ML608476226

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

My best, single-scan count. JWM had one more, but I wasn't able to match that. Perhaps because these birds were unusually active and put on a very personable show which I have never experienced from this species. The birds were incredibly feisty; seemingly tussling with each other, but also nipping at the willets which would occasionally get too close. A few of them would (seemingly randomly) take very erratic circular flights but often return to the group. During this whole time they would periodically go through time when they would be very vocal, which was a real treat! They made a variety of calls from cackling outbursts, to rattling, RBWO/RHWO-like screams. The best part was that as the tide was coming in, I was able to sit in the very shallow water and over time the birds actually came quite close to me as they continued foraging and exciting each other. At one point, I had something like 8 or 9 MAGO within 20-feet of me. I took a tremendous amount of photos, some of which I will add. I also tried to record some vocalization with my iPhone, but I don't know if they will come out.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

250

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/2500 sec

Dimensions

3944 pixels x 2936 pixels

Original file size

2.17 MB