ML63028411
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Fecha
Localidad
- Edad y sexo
- Adulto, sexo desconocido - X
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Adult Heermann's Gull in alternate plumage photographed by Curtis A. Marantz on 9 July 2017 at the mouth of the canal along the shore of the Salton Sea south of the west end of 84th Avenue, Riverside County, California.
Detalles de la observación
Shortly after I arrived at the end of the levee at the mouth of the canal south of 84th Avenue, I spotted this bird standing on the beach among the other gulls and pelicans. I then observed this bird and took some photos before it flew off while I was not looking. I saw this bird in good light but at moderate distance, and with the bird generally facing into the wind and thus away from me. This was a medium-sized gull that I estimated to be 20-25% smaller than adjacent California Gulls, yet with a generally similar shape. The bill was relatively short, slim, and straight. The head was of unremarkable size and with a smoothly rounded crown. The medium-length neck was slim where it joined the head, the body was plump, the wings tapered to pointed tips, the tail was short and seemingly square-tipped, the legs were of medium-length, and the feet were fully webbed. Given that I saw this bird only as it stood on the beach and initially as it preened, I never saw the spread wings. This bird stood out among the other birds as a result of the contrast between the white of the head and neck, the slate-gray of the back and wing-coverts, the nearly black wingtips and tail, and the medium-gray sides and flanks, but given that I saw the bird primarily from behind, and occasionally the side, I never clearly saw the breast or belly. I did notice white tips to the tertials that created an inconspicuous “tertial crescent,” and also that the tail was narrowly tipped paler, but I never saw the rump or much additional contrast in the wings. By far the most conspicuous thing about this bird was the bright, scarlet-red bill that was indistinctly tipped darker. I was less sure about the color of the eyes, or if they were encircled by a colorful orbital-ring, but I was able to see clearly that the legs and webbed feet were dark gray to blackish in color.
Información técnica
- Model
- Canon EOS 7D Mark II
- Lens
- EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
- ISO
- 320
- Focal length
- 400 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire, auto
- f-stop
- f/8.0
- Shutter speed
- 1/1000 sec
- Dimensions
- 1059 pixels x 691 pixels
- Original file size
- 532.43 KB