ML624074781

Age and sex

Immature Male - 1

Observation details

Sweeeet! Great record for Marin, and the OP. Only the second BHVI in the county since 2015 (the 2021 bird at the Lighthouse was ultimately not accepted by the CBRC) and fourth since 2004. I had challenging looks at the bird high in the stand of pines before it flew to the lone pine tree on the south hillside across the road from the main grove. I got some poor pics before losing the bird. As I was leaving, I noticed movement down low back in the main stand of pines, and ended up getting fantastic looks at the bird at eye level (as I stood on the fallen pine tree) as the bird foraged out in the open. Unsure of who the original finders are/were, but big shout out to E. Monk, L. Kahle, and D. Sieburth, who arrived at Blue-headed Vireo upon observing the bird this afternoon, and then got the word out. In my opinion, this is a BHVI. The rectrices were noticeably tapered and the primary coverts were dull brown, contrasting with the greater coverts, both of which put the bird at HY. The dark hood contrasted nicely with the bright white throat and the rest of the bird was very bright; the yellow-green in the flanks and vent being almost neon in the field. Given the age and plumage of this bird, it looks to be a HY male, much brighter then a HY CAVI or even the brightest adult male CAVI would be. Photos should be taken with a grain of salt as they were primarily in very bright direct afternoon sunlight.

Technical information

Model

ILCE-9

Lens

FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS

ISO

2500

Focal length

600 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/4000 sec

Dimensions

4023 pixels x 2476 pixels

Original file size

4.05 MB