ML612894024

Age and sex

Adult Female - 1

Media notes

A good example of how well they blend into the tundra vegetation!

Observation details

An amazing morning spent with my lifer Smith's Longspurs! Close, extended views and lots of photos and recordings to upload. Mostly hanging out in pairs, with the male and female foraging close to one another among lichen and sedge hummocks. At least 6 (three pairs), likely eight or more - difficult to count accurately as they occasionally made long looping flights in pairs or trios. Males singing mostly from the ground: they would sing once or twice from a low hummock, then scurry around to forage a bit before popping up on another hummock to sing. Only once did one perch atop a leafless willow twig about 20cm above the ground. Song very stereotyped, same repeated phrase every time. Females often gave rattle call from the ground. Difficult to track down at first: I noticed their song almost immediately upon entering the open tundra from the road, but didn't see any until a pair flew in and landed together about 10 feet away, crouching between hummocks. After sitting still for a while a male popped up to sing quite close to me. throughout the morning they were quite tame, often foraging and singing within 10 meters or so. Habitat dry hummocks of sedges, cotton grass, sphagnum, reindeer lichen, and other mosses and lichens: often dominated by reindeer lichen. Few, patchy willows and scrub birch mostly less than 50 cm tall.

Technical information

Model

COOLPIX P900

ISO

280

Focal length

321 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/500 sec

Dimensions

3702 pixels x 2776 pixels

Original file size

7.89 MB