Angus,
I don't know why you're puzzled. There are very few people here who have extensive (if any) experience with Gyrfalcon, and young hawks in general aren't that easy, at least for me. I've personally never seen one in the lower 48 (sad but true). I guess the main contender to be ruled out are hybrids that the falconers are so fond of creating. I think the photos are good enough that knowledgeable people (I'm definitely excluding myself) could figure it out. I look forward to comments from those in the know. Looking for my next state bird Dave Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:17:56 -0400 Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Gyrfalcon at Jones beach From: oceanwander...@gmail.com To: nysbirds-l@cornell.edu A number of people have chimed in with enthusiastic endorsements of the ID as a Gyr (and they may well be right) but I am still puzzled by the fact that many of the actual observers at the weekend were willing to accept it as a large (tundrius) Peregrine, albeit with some hesitancy. Otherwise, why weren't there any headline postings from that day? Is it because the overall jizz did not quite fit with people's expectations/experience? This worries me. To be fair, a bird can sometimes be too close or in an unfamiliar context and this confounds an otherwise straightforward ID. A good example of this is when one is confronted with a dead bird. Sometimes familiar species can be baffling at first, especially for people not used to looking at specimens. Coming back to the bird in question, is it a case that the bird was initially called a Peregrine and nobody felt entirely comfortable in challenging that initial ID without further study? Having a pile of photos is great - the flight shots are really spectacular - but it is important not to ignore the impressions of people who saw the bird in life. I'm still hoping to see photos of the landed bird (ideally in a tree with the body held in a typical upright fashion) so that we can better evaluate the wing to tail proportions. I have seen a few shots of the bird on the ground standing over the Herring Gull carcass but as I recall, the tail tip was obscured. Maybe there are more suitable images out there? Anyway, lets not close the case files right awat. I personally don't think it is a simple slam dunk and working through the ID carefully will undoubtedly be a valuable learning opportunity for all of us. Angus Wilson New York City & The Springs, NY, USA http://birdingtotheend.blogspot.com/ _________________________________________________________________ Windows 7: It helps you do more. Explore Windows 7. http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/windows-7/default.aspx?ocid=PID24727::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WWL_WIN_evergreen3:102009 -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
