ML63164191

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

Left bird

Observation details

****MEGA. Found earlier in afternoon by Dr. Richard Veit. After much deliberation on the identify of this bird, it was concluded that the bird is indeed a juvenile Little Egret for several reasons: -This bird has a larger/longer bill than the Snowy Egrets in direct comparison,as well as evident grayish lores. In addition the bird is also taller than them (longer and thicker legs) -The bird has an evident flat crown, as well as a long neck. (Bird was larger and bulkier than the ~25 Snowy Egrets in direct comparison). -Juvenile Little Blue Herons, which aren't uncommon at this location this time of year, was eliminated, simply from the points mentioned earlier- the bird has a longer bill, neck, and legs than Snowy Egrets, whereas Little Blue Heron is smaller than Snowy Egret. Although the bird can appear to have a bicolored bill (like Little Blue Heron) in some light instances, many points highly negate Little Blue Heron. Additionally, when feeding, this bird held its neck curled, more similar to Snowy Egret feeding behavior. Little Blue Herons often stretch their neck out fully and forage rather slowly and elegantly; this bird was more active, feeding similar in the way the Snowy Egrets were feeding around it. -In a short flight (and in a tussle with a SNEG), the birds primaries were all white. Many photos taken, some are posted below:

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 50D

ISO

400

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/10.0

Shutter speed

1/800 sec

Dimensions

1436 pixels x 957 pixels

Original file size

341.04 KB