Fw: [nysbirds-l] Gyrfalcon at Jones beach
- Forwarded Message From: pete gustas To: Angus Wilson Sent: Wed, October 28, 2009 9:29:04 PM Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Gyrfalcon at Jones beach Angus I think the problem stems from people who are not familiar with a bird having trouble making the commitment to an ID even when they are sure of what they saw,wich should not detract from the photo ID.These photos are better than most of the ones used in field guides that people probably refered to when trying to ID this bird. The photos of this bird show that without a doubt 100% this bird is a juv. gray morph Gyrfalcon. CASE CLOSED. I would take these photos over any ones personal ID. These photos are not fuzzy or distant they show every plumage detail that is necessary for an ID,WITH PHOTOS LIKE THESE you do not need the actual observers observations. Pete Gustas 168 Schofield St. City Island,NY 10464 pgus...@yahoo.com From: Angus Wilson To: nysbirds-l@cornell.edu Sent: Wed, October 28, 2009 8:17:56 PM Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Gyrfalcon at Jones beach 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/ -- 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/ --
FW: [nysbirds-l] Gyrfalcon at Jones beach
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/ --
Fw: [nysbirds-l] Gyrfalcon at Jones beach
- Forwarded Message From: pete gustas pgus...@yahoo.com To: Angus Wilson oceanwander...@gmail.com Sent: Wed, October 28, 2009 9:29:04 PM Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Gyrfalcon at Jones beach Angus I think the problem stems from people who are not familiar with a bird having trouble making the commitment to an ID even when they are sure of what they saw,wich should not detract from the photo ID.These photos are better than most of the ones used in field guides that people probably refered to when trying to ID this bird. The photos of this bird show that without a doubt 100% this bird is a juv. gray morph Gyrfalcon. CASE CLOSED. I would take these photos over any ones personal ID. These photos are not fuzzy or distant they show every plumage detail that is necessary for an ID,WITH PHOTOS LIKE THESE you do not need the actual observers observations. Pete Gustas 168 Schofield St. City Island,NY 10464 pgus...@yahoo.com From: Angus Wilson oceanwander...@gmail.com To: nysbirds-l@cornell.edu Sent: Wed, October 28, 2009 8:17:56 PM Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Gyrfalcon at Jones beach 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/ -- 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/ --
