Nikon's October Facebook Quiz
Hey everyone! We certainly hope this quiz provided a great challenge for you. If you are a regular reader to this blog you may have seen some similar recent posts about some of the species in this photo. We asked you to identify all the species in this photo for this month's quiz. I like these kinds of quizzes, because it portrays a much more accurate setting for how we view these birds. Photos like this one above allows us to use size comparisons which we often have in the field while beach birding. This group of beach-loving birds were photographed on Mustang Island just south of Rockport-Fulton, TX during the Hummer Bird Celebration.
As we are looking at the photo most will take away from it immediately that we are looking at some terns with a sandpiper in the background. The terns have a slender attenuated build with long pointed bills. The full/partial black caps are another great clue as to what we are looking at. However, after looking further we can see that there are a few noticeable size differences most likely indicating different species. Oh fun, right? As mentioned earlier, we can use these different sizes to our advantage. The seven larger terns in the photo really fit into only one category which is the Caspian/Royal group. We can see some of the bills of the birds on the left side of the photo and the tapering of the bill plus the orange color makes these Royal Terns. Furthermore, the birds in the center and right side of the photos aren't showing their bills. Thus, what do we look at next. Well, Royal terns often have a shaggy crest look to the nape in winter adult plumage. Caspian often has more black farther on the crown with a smooth look on the nape. To me, the larger terns all show a shaggy crest along with white crowns, so these six large terns are all Royals. If there were a Caspian in the photo it would be slightly larger than the Royal making it the largest tern in the world.
Now, there are five medium-sized terns in the center and right hand side of the photo. Let's look at the crowned birds first. The most common possibilities would be Common and Forster's Terns at this time of year. Forster's Terns molt far earlier than other medium-sized terns and all of the Forster's I was looking in that area were already showing the black bill with the black patch over the eye. Forster's are often a touch bigger than Common, but can look daintier. I noticed how short the legs were on those three birds along with the darker bodies. Now, the angle of the sun can always play a role with bird plumages on a beach like this, but these birds were much darker given the fact Forster's Terns are pretty white in appearance. Given the molt, leg size and throw in the darker red bills we are most certainly looking at three Common Terns. There are two birds that are resting with a similar head plumage as the Royal Terns on the right side of the photo. Notice how they are a little larger than the Common Terns. The head of the one bird is actually facing the camera so we are looking at the rim of the nape and the bill is buried in the mantle feathers. The long legs and slimmer appearance put these birds in the Sandwich Tern category. Plus, Sandwich Terns are markedly whiter than Commons which offers us another concrete clue.
Here are a couple of first-fall Common Terns resting in the middle of the photo above surrounded by Black Terns.
As we are looking at the photo most will take away from it immediately that we are looking at some terns with a sandpiper in the background. The terns have a slender attenuated build with long pointed bills. The full/partial black caps are another great clue as to what we are looking at. However, after looking further we can see that there are a few noticeable size differences most likely indicating different species. Oh fun, right? As mentioned earlier, we can use these different sizes to our advantage. The seven larger terns in the photo really fit into only one category which is the Caspian/Royal group. We can see some of the bills of the birds on the left side of the photo and the tapering of the bill plus the orange color makes these Royal Terns. Furthermore, the birds in the center and right side of the photos aren't showing their bills. Thus, what do we look at next. Well, Royal terns often have a shaggy crest look to the nape in winter adult plumage. Caspian often has more black farther on the crown with a smooth look on the nape. To me, the larger terns all show a shaggy crest along with white crowns, so these six large terns are all Royals. If there were a Caspian in the photo it would be slightly larger than the Royal making it the largest tern in the world.
Now, there are five medium-sized terns in the center and right hand side of the photo. Let's look at the crowned birds first. The most common possibilities would be Common and Forster's Terns at this time of year. Forster's Terns molt far earlier than other medium-sized terns and all of the Forster's I was looking in that area were already showing the black bill with the black patch over the eye. Forster's are often a touch bigger than Common, but can look daintier. I noticed how short the legs were on those three birds along with the darker bodies. Now, the angle of the sun can always play a role with bird plumages on a beach like this, but these birds were much darker given the fact Forster's Terns are pretty white in appearance. Given the molt, leg size and throw in the darker red bills we are most certainly looking at three Common Terns. There are two birds that are resting with a similar head plumage as the Royal Terns on the right side of the photo. Notice how they are a little larger than the Common Terns. The head of the one bird is actually facing the camera so we are looking at the rim of the nape and the bill is buried in the mantle feathers. The long legs and slimmer appearance put these birds in the Sandwich Tern category. Plus, Sandwich Terns are markedly whiter than Commons which offers us another concrete clue.
Here are a couple of first-fall Common Terns resting in the middle of the photo above surrounded by Black Terns.
With one more bird left we can focus on the sandpiper in the background. The fat-bodied nature plus super-clean white ventral part to the body really puts this in the Sanderling category. Dunlin would be even more robust in the body and the longer legs would show more tip-up stance as the bird is feeding. Also, even though the bill is partially obstructed the Dunlin would show a bit longer bill.
Hope this all was helpful. This shot was taken with a Nikon 85mm EDG Fieldscope with a D200 and an FSA-L2 bracket shooting through my rental car's window. Good birding to all!
0 comments:
Post a Comment