ML68337731

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

The photos show summer-plumage terns with full black caps and orange/black bills, with all gray upper wing surface, which would seem to indicate common tern. The bill seemed too contrasty to me for common tern with more black at the tip than I woud expect this late in the season, and the dark wing tips seemed more like forster's than common to me, so I initially classed these as additional forster's, in addition to the ones seen at the same time that were definitely forster's based on winter plumage. However, the ebird reviewer wrote a note to me that these three birds were definitely common terns so I am changing the ID. He indicated the key field marks to support common were the contrast between the white tail and the darker back, and wedge-shaped dark marks on the outer underside of the wings.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

ISO

200

Focal length

215 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.5

Shutter speed

1/1250 sec

Dimensions

1600 pixels x 1200 pixels

Original file size

873.14 KB