ML611561081

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Seen above the dam roughly here: (35.0007593, -85.6148709). Noticed a larger, dark (nearly black) diver at first with head tucked in. We suspected it was a scoter, so we changed angle to get it in better light. It began actively swimming a bit and was able to get good looks at the face. Two distinctive spots of white at the base of the bill and behind the eye quickly ruled out Black Scoter and looked more like Surf than WWSC, plus the head/bill not as elongated or sloping and not too bulky as far as scoters go. The bird was large, but not quite as ‘tanky’ as I would expect a WWSC to be when compared to nearby divers. Never at any point did it show any white secondaries, even when diving. Distant pic added, but the bird is quartered away with head partially tucked, so certainly not diagnostic.

Technical information

Model

COOLPIX P900

ISO

200

Focal length

357 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.5

Shutter speed

1/500 sec

Dimensions

826 pixels x 620 pixels

Original file size

82.48 KB