Apoligies for multiple posts... See correction below - 299 was accidentally typed as 200. Apologies!
Also, I observed the bird from a distance of about 15 yards at one point and here are the reasons it isn't a leucistic Red-tail: Wings were pointier and had bright white undersides with dark tips; no trace of a slightly golden belly band which I have see on the leucistic Red- tail in Rosendale; the plumage is reminiscent of a Snowy Owl in that it is white with dark feather tips; the tail looked a bit longer than a RTH; its behavior was different from a RTH; it had a trace of a dark, smudgy eyeline...that's all I can think of off the top of my head. My passenger's (who is not a birder) first words upon seeing it were, "It looks like an owl" meaning a Snowy Owl. Thanks! Christine Guarino Begin forwarded message: > From: christine guarino <[email protected]> > Date: March 8, 2010 7:27:27 PM EST > To: midhudsonbirds <[email protected]>, > [email protected] > , nysbirds-l <[email protected]> > Subject: Gyrfalcon - near New Paltz, NY > > This afternoon (3/8/10) around 5:00 I saw a white morph Gyrfalcon on > Route 299 just east of New Paltz. It flew into a wetland area with > many dead trees at the intersection of South Elting Corners road and > Route 299 near Lowe's and across the street from a big Central > Hudson facility. > > The bird is very obvious and should be there in the morning. It > appeared to be actively hunting and changing perches frequently. > Keep scanning the wetland area and the large dead tree where it > originally perched on Route 299 may be a habitual perch. The tree > is right near the Rodeway Inn and there is a Potter Bros billboard > (if you're facing west) and a Lotus billboard (if you're facing > east) at the base of the tree. > > > Map here: http://tinyurl.com/yaqx6vp > > Good luck!! > > Christine Guarino > New Paltz, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
