ML616598790

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

I had counted 14 individuals up to the point on Norton Woods Rd at 39°8′50″ N 90°44′48″ W where I saw a massive flock of birds standing in the wet ag field on the E side of the rd. I was floored when I realized they were American Golden-Plover. I got my scope out and the whole flock picked up and moved farther away. I could still scope them and started a 1x1 count but the birds kept moving on foot and in short hop flights so I had to start estimating by 5s. I got up to 350 and all the birds spooked and took flight. They split into multiple large sections, each roughly comparable in size and going in different directions, which made estimating that much more difficult but I tried by 20s and 50s. The photos I’m attaching hopefully accurately capture the magnitude of the moment. After the huge sections were gone yet another flock passed, not as huge, but still big.

Technical information

Model

COOLPIX P1000

ISO

100

Flash

Flash did not fire

Dimensions

3634 pixels x 2804 pixels

Original file size

949.2 KB