ML81079561

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

Horrible digiscope showing two male common mergansers, with strong contrasting white with dark heads, and a female/first year bird which can barely be seen behind the cormorant in the foreground.

Observation details

2 males, one female/first winter.. The males sat relatively high on the water, showing snowy white flanks, and neck, contrasting with a dark head, green in the right light. The white was bold, as with a bufflehead, and when the birds flapped their wings, they showed continuous white underneath, to differentiate with the white collared, chestnut breast look on a Red-breasted Merganser. Long reddish merganser bill. The female/first winter looked somewhat smaller, with a brown head and the hint of a white “chin,” but the size difference may have just been an illusion. Seen well in scopes from the overlook. The birds were keeping to themselves, near the end of the peninsula that separates the Haw and the main part of the lake. The Haw itself was largely frozen over, from the lengthy, extremely cold conditions. Common Mergansers have been seen in various places in the Piedmont with this recent weather event. Poor digiscope photos.

Technical information

Model

iPhone 6s

Lens

iPhone 6s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2

ISO

25

Focal length

4.2 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/2.2

Shutter speed

1/1068 sec

Dimensions

1051 pixels x 688 pixels

Original file size

165.13 KB