Hi All, To summarize Marshall Iliff's lengthy email below, there has been a gorgeous immature male gray morph Gyrfalcon frequenting the agricultural areas of Northampton, Hadley, and Amherst MA since mid-December, which has been incredibly difficult to pin down. However, over the weekend the birds' roost was discovered, greatly improving chances of finding the gyr. However due to the sensitivity of rare bird roost, viewing is being moderated by a google doc spreadsheet, where you can sign up to receive more detailed information about this bird. The central Connecticut River Valley is only 2.5-3 hours away from NYC-- essentially the same distance from NYC to the Catskills or Montauk. Though the google doc is certainly an extra hurdle it is well worth the trouble, as this bird is a beast to behold.
Good Birding, Jacob Drucker Amherst, MA Begin forwarded message: > From: Marshall Iliff <[email protected]> > Date: February 20, 2013 4:15:11 PM EST > To: Massbird <[email protected]> > Subject: [MASSBIRD] Hadley Gyrfalcon -- improved chances > Reply-To: Marshall Iliff <[email protected]> > > Massbird, > > With some trepidation, we are going to try to release news of a rare bird. > This is not a "new" rarity, but one that has been present for some time. > Those that have *really* wanted to see it, have had 3 months to try. > Persistence has paid off for many. But this bird is not easy to find and > there is now a strategy that will improve chances greatly. The bird is the > Hadley Gyrfalcon. > > On Saturday, 16 Feb 2013, I birded the Connecticut River Valley. I was most > hoping to catch up with the Gyrfalcon, which I had not yet seen (although I > arrived on 31 Jan at East Hadley St. while several people were watching it > fly off…another story). I did a couple full circuits of the standard > fields--Aqua Vitae, Honeypot, South Maple St.--and had no luck. Since there > had been recent reports (no photos of which I am aware) of the Gyrfalcon in > the Honeypot area around 5pm, I went there at 16:15 and waited. > > I felt silly, since I had never really believed that the Gyrfalcon would > roost in that area. Some of the area mountains have superb cliffs that are > perfect for a Gyr. On my previous visit (31 Jan) I had tried to find the > roost near Mount Tom, and failed. My focus on the roost site was not only > because that would be a good way for me to find it, but also because > Gyrfalcons cover tens of square miles daily, and the only reliable way for > other birders to find it would be to discover the roost. > > So I waited at the Honeypot, uncertain whether I was there because the > Gyrfalcon had really been here, or because the Rt. 9 Peregrines were > regularly being misidentified as a Gyrfalcon. There clearly has been a lot of > Gyrfalcon excitement, and early on I even saw photos of a Merlin (!) > identified as a Gyrfalcon. Peregrines can be very tough to tell from Gyr, > especially in flight or when distant. This mistake is totally understandable, > but it does make it hard to find the "real" Gyr, when reports are muddied by > misidentifications. With no offense intended to those who had reported Gyr > there, I felt more and more like I was in the wrong place as time wore on. > When an adult Peregrine arrived and perched in a distant tree, I decided to > change my strategy. I was right to do so -- the dusk sightings of "the Gyr" > have almost certainly pertained to Peregrines (I'd be interested in any > evidence to show otherwise). > > While standing at the Honeypot I had a tip from another birder about where > the Gyr had flown off to at 16:30 one evening, and I had seen some rocks that > seemed like a potential roost. So I headed straight there. I had 10 minutes > of daylight left and it was 15 minutes away. > > When I got there, the immature gray morph Gyr was sitting right on the rocks > and possibly the first thing in my binoculars when I raised them to scan the > cliff. It was a thrilling and wonderful end to the day. > > That was followed by a bit of despair. Do I post this to eBird right now? I > had BirdLog on my phone, had the GPS point, and could have posted to eBird > right then while still looking at the bird. That would have meant an alert > going out to hundreds, maybe thousands, of people. I was unsure if the > viewing point I had used was private, or if they would be willing to handle > tens of cars each night until the bird left. Earlier that day there had been > private landowner issues at Kaveski Farm, greatly magnified by the deep snow > and limited road shoulders. Should I be a part of creating another situation > like this? > > So I called some friends locally and discussed. They confirmed my instinct > that my viewing point was not a good one for the masses from Massbird. They > echoed my concerns about posting it until we had a chance to talk to property > owners. One mentioned that it was his CBC area, and bad birder behavior could > jeopardize future access. > > I had another concern. This same Gyrfalcon has *already been trapped* by a > falconer back in December (I saw photos of it in hand). Thankfully, it was > released. Although I have heard it was legal to trap and keep a wild > Gyrfalcon in Mass, I think it is not the case (see > http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/regulations/cmr/cmr_300.htm#304). Regardless, > Gyrfalcons are very valuable in falconry, and the last thing I would want > would be for the bird to be trapped and taken into captivity. Just like > birders, not all falconers follow the rules. And every one of them that wants > to can read Massbird. > > The internet today is a dangerous place, and Gyrfalcons are in high demand by > birders and falconers alike, so with concerns over private property and the > safety of the bird, I opted to take a measured approach. Connecticut River > Valley friends and scouts have been checking on the situation and helping to > develop a plan. > > We now have a plan. > > I have been specifically and personally criticized in this forum for past > attempts to balance the welfare of property owners, the welfare of the birds, > and the desire to share news of rare birds. Since I work a 40 hour workweek > (plus untold unpaid overtime) on eBird, I will admit that I take it very > personally every time this is suggested (and it has been suggested more than > once. eBird has been a global force towards providing bird information to > more people in a more useful way *and* is making birder information relevant > to science an conservation in new and important ways. You can understand my > frustration. > > It is my hope that anyone angry about this being posted several days after my > discovery, stop and think for a second of what they would have done and what > the repercussions would have been. Barbara Volkle did a stellar job handling > a very sensitive private property issue with the Black-throated Gray Warbler, > and also manages this listserv. Despite that, she still had to field angry > emails from people who felt excluded. Should every rarity be instantly posted > publicly regardless of the situation? Only the most unreasonable or > uninformed would say yes to that. > > The simple facts are that not every bird can be shared with the entire world > (that is effectively what an internet posting does), that even if 99% of > birders are respectful and well-behaved, at least 1% are not. This who find > rare birds (or rare bird roost sites) have a responsibility to think how to > share them appropriately. No one has a "right" to see anything that someone > else finds, and in my view, every last one of us should feel grateful anytime > anyone shares their bird or birds publicly via eBird, Massbird, or a private > phone call. At times, it is our responsibility to let the reporter know that > he or she may have shared too openly too fast -- some feederwatchers don't > know what they are in for. > > With that preface, here is how we have decided to proceed. To minimize the > risk to the bird, we have created a google form that you can sign in to and > register. At 3pm every day (5pm today...if this email even reaches Massbird > by then) we will email the directions to the site and rules for viewing this > bird. We have no illusion that this will stay under wraps, but out of respect > we do ask that you have people use this form to request the instructions. At > the very list, this requires for some accountability. > > To get the info on the site, please access this Google Doc. You should not > need a Google Account to access this. Just sign in with name, email, and date > you wish to go see the bird. > > https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkEyDGE-63LWdE1RMG5qanRrRDJrNFJvaUVWZUtob1E#gid=0 > > > Over the past few nights, here is what we know of the roost attendance so far: > > Saturday, 16 Feb - present at roost 17:37-17:50. > > Sunday, 17 Feb - Not seen in morning or evening; very strong NW winds may > have forced an alternate roost site. > > Monday, 18 Feb - Falcon arrived at 17:43 and was still (barely) visible at > 17:55. > > Tuesday, 19 Feb - Falcon departed at 6:50. No reports (or not seen) in > evening. > > Wednesday, 20 Feb - Falcon not seen in morning. > > Obviously, it is not 100%, but your chances go up significantly. A scope is > needed to view the bird. The place where you will view is a parking lot where > the owner has given express permission for birders. We will all need to be > respectful of the owner's wishes, which we will share with the daily emails. > > For those wishing to report it to eBird, I have created a hotspot named > "stakeout Gyrfalcon roost, Hadley (2013)". Please use this and I will move it > to the correct location one we are no longer concerned about. > > I hope everyone understands why this approach is being taken. > > Best, > > Marshall Iliff > > > **************************** > Marshall J. Iliff > miliff AT aol.com > West Roxbury, MA > **************************** > eBird/AKN Project Leader > www.ebird.org > www.avianknowledge.net > Cornell Lab of Ornithology > Ithaca, NY > **************************** -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
