ML82329381
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Observation details
At 1448, I briefly saw a distant raptor with barred black and white tail fly from where it had apparently been perched, high in a tree in the aspen grove. At 1455, I located a SSHA (presumably the same raptor), perched 4/5 of the way up in a dead aspen ca 10 m from the edge of the largest continuous aspen grove. The tree in which it was perched was a few meters taller than average. While I observed it perching here, it moved its head from time to time, looking ahead, left, and right. At 1504, it leaned forward briefly and raised its tail at the same time, then settled back down and fluffed its back feathers. At 1507, it briefly raised its right foot (which was yellow), then turned its head backwards and preened its back briefly. At 1508, without advance warning it bent forward and launched into a glide to the south in the aspen grove, out of sight. At 1512, if flew from this westernmost, large aspen grove to the east, beating its wings and passing by ca 5 perched BBMA, which increased their rate of calling a lot momentarily. It glided to a landing low at the edge of a smaller aspen grove, where I lost sight of it. Within 30 seconds, 4 smallish groups of BOWA flew low overhead from east to west, low over the aspens, ca 100 or more total. This SSHA had a very interesting appearance, striking me as perhaps intermediate between adult and juvenile. Brownish head, pale eye, yellowish cere and legs; barring on flanks but apparently some streaking as well on its pale underside; lots of pale spotting on the back. Small head, fluffy body; rounded wingtips in flight.
Technical information
- Model
- COOLPIX P900
- ISO
- 125
- Focal length
- 714 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire, auto
- f-stop
- f/6.5
- Shutter speed
- 1/500 sec
- Dimensions
- 4608 pixels x 3456 pixels
- Original file size
- 4.59 MB