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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Mystery Death at the Beach (1 Viewer)

colleenc

colleenc

Well-known member
I'm hoping some of you real birders can help me here. For the last few days at North Salmon Creek I've walked by this, finally yesterday I picked it up and tried to figure it out.

My best guess is some large thing, got the small thing, the bird, black pointy wings and they got stuck somehow and drowned together. The long vertebra had a small narrow pelvis,(total of about 12 inches, 30 cm) and some sort of short leg bones stuck into the white mass of feather of the smaller bird. I took the skull of the smalle one and maybe someone can I D it

Thanks
 

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I'm going to make some art out of this when I figure it out more, I post here all the time,....so I have some friends who I think might be able to help, but if it is out of line I'll ask to have it removed, I don't want to post on the ID forum as it is dead and that's not allowed.
 
It's tricky but it could be a guillemot (I think they call them "murre" in north America). Do they live around there?
 
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colleenc said:
I'm going to make some art out of this when I figure it out more, I post here all the time,....so I have some friends who I think might be able to help, but if it is out of line I'll ask to have it removed, I don't want to post on the ID forum as it is dead and that's not allowed.
Click to expand...

sure looks like a murre [guillemot] but other auks are available

I think we make up our own rules in this little backwater of birdforum..unless Steve is watching
 
colleenc said:
I don't want to post on the ID forum as it is dead and that's not allowed.
Click to expand...

I thought you could ... maybe with a warning in the title that the contents might be a touch gruesome (the word 'death' might almost be enough!).

Might get more responses ...
 
can't find those on the lists here, only pigeon guillimot, for size the bill is 1" and the bill and head together, are 2" (5 cm) def very dark head on upper but white on lower and big white chest and belly ( sorry if those are the wrong terms for the body parts,:eek!: )
 
Colleen - I'd agree with Ed, this looks very like a guillemot but your sizes rule it out. Any chance you could make an exact measurement, please?
 
resparza said:
What about Xantus murrelet? The size sounds about right and those live as far south as Baja California
Click to expand...
Hmmm - I wonder if the proportions aren't a bit off for the murrulets (marbled could be an option) - but I suppose the decay may have contorted the shapes somewhat.
 
body looks right the bill is sharp and pointed , we have these, the wings are very pointed in the one I found.... also webbed feet

what do you think the big one was?
 
Yes that's what I was thinking might be too, and this morning another thought occurred, maybe it's not a prey predator situation, the "corm" skeleton is completely bare, clean, the other is all there feather and all and intact, so maybe the two events happened separate and got tangled as they washed ashore, otherwise how could they be in completely different states, the smaller bird is like a dried skin, flexible and still with all the feathers.

thanks for the link
 
Had there been a pale mark to match I would of said Brunnich's Guillemot...

Strikes me as an auk, though short and deeper than Common Guillemot. Bill, plumage tones and size seem a match...

Long Billed Murrelet or closely related species would be a likely candidate I feel. What species might be considered in the area, is it the Pacific we are talking about? Location sholud help narrow the possibilties down...
 
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buzzard12 said:
Had there been a pale mark to match I would of said Brunnich's Guillemot...

Strikes me as an auk, though short and deeper than Common Guillemot. Bill, plumage tones and size seem a match...

Long Billed Murrelet or closely related species would be a likely candidate I feel. What species might be considered in the area, is it the Pacific we are talking about? Location sholud help narrow the possibilties down...
Click to expand...

How About Xantus's Murrelet?
 
I have given up on this one....but that is the closest to it. I have another mystery I'll post in a new thread

thanks for all the comments
 
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