[TN-Bird] Re: Possible Neotropic Cormorant at the Duck River Unit
- From: Michael Todd <birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, birdhunterrws@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2012 09:52:06 -0700 (PDT)
Ruben,
With the concentration of Cormorants at Duck River right now, it would be a
great place to find a Neo. While practically all of our Neotropic records have
come from along the MS River, I do think Jeff had flyover once at Pace Point,
and there are KY records from KY Lake, and I think farther east as well, so any
large group of Cormorants is worth checking for a Neo. I spent a lot of time
scanning Cormorants while I was at Duck River the other day.
The longer tail of a Neo is usually apparent when in direct comparison to a
Double-crested. Size is a good indicator, but you do run across runt
Double-crested on occasion, that could fool you on just that indicator. From my
experience, Neos are usually somewhat hesitant around Double-crested, but I'm
sure this isn't a steadfast rule. The overall glossiness of the plumage isn't
something I've ever noticed as a field mark between the two. The dark loral
area of Neotropic is often visible even at fairly long range (or the yellow
lores of a Double-crested are). But, occasionally DC Corms have dark lores,
especially young birds, and can be quite smaller than average, so it is a
combination of these factors. Hopefully it was a Neo and can be refound, though
not an easy task with the number of Cormorants at Duck River, and the distance
involved with looking at many of them.
It is really great having these regular reports from Duck River!
Good Birding!!
Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.pbase.com/mctodd
--- On Sun, 8/12/12, Ruben Stoll <birdhunterrws@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Ruben Stoll <birdhunterrws@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [TN-Bird] Possible Neotropic Cormorant at the Duck River Unit
To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sunday, August 12, 2012, 10:03 PM
Sunday August 12, Duck River Unit, TNWR, Humphreys County. Adam and I saw what
we think may be a Neotropic Cormorant with the hundreds of Double Cresteds in
pool 1. We got a good long look of the bird interacting with the other
Cormorants, though it was too far away for photographs. The bird was bickering
with an adult Double Crested for a few minutes for the right to perch on a dead
stob. It appeared well able to defend it's perch in spite of being about a
third smaller. It was also slimmer, had a smaller head and a shorter beak. We
were able to get a good size comparision when they were face to face biting at
each other. The overall plumage of the bird also appeared darker and more
glossy than any of the other Cormorants. What do you think? Does this sound
right? I probably should have reported 9 white Ibis that I saw on Friday the
tenth, also in pool 1 up at the far end. Ruben Stoll.
Other related posts:
