ML619171935

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Scarce to rare migrant, true abundance confounded by the ID challenges associated with this species. Essentially annual in some numbers throughout the City, typically depending on audio recordings for confident, confirmatory identification. This first-year individual was discovered early in the morning by Tomas Kay and subsequently tracked throughout the day by numerous birders as it moved around the rocky outcrop north and west of Azalea Pond. Recordings obtained by the original finder and Enrico Leonardi, possibly others, providing supporting evidence for reports that this individual ended its song variants with an upwards (or sometimes neutral) inflection rather than the distinctive descending ending heard in Gray-cheeked Thrush. On visuals alone, this bird fit the typical “search image” for a classic Bicknell’s, with warmer plumage tones with faint reddish tint to the tail and wings, a less sleek or elongated silhouette, and extensive yellow on the bill. When I was present, I heard several sharp, descending flight calls as the bird moved about its foraging circuit. A snippet of overheard song may have originated from the bird, but I can’t confidently rule out the possibility that someone wasn’t playing tape nearby. At any rate, this individual is demonstrably the same bird that was documented singing earlier, easily recognized by plumage details like the pattern of pale tips on its coverts and its faithfulness to the same general area throughout the day

Technical information

Model

NIKON D7500

ISO

20000

Focal length

500 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/160 sec

Dimensions

4465 pixels x 2977 pixels

Original file size

3.9 MB