Tweeters,

This afternoon I found and photographed an adult(?) Gyrfalcon at milepost 18 on
Hwy 24 east of Yakima in an area dominated by several year old wheat stubble.
The Red-tail-sized bird first impressed me as an _anatum_ Peregrine since its
neck and breast had a very white ground color(throat was nearly pure white),
but the thin black streaks on the upper breast were vertical and gradually
became broader and horizontal on the flanks. Moderately dark brownish head and
brownish-gray back with a light moustachial streak. Has anyone else had
experience with a Gyr of this description (contrasing light front with darker
back)? I've had experience with few Gyrs.

The bird was in an area that Andy Stepniewski tells me features a large
population of Gray Partridges.

Also, a bald eagle gave a me good show today in Richland when it took a female
Bufflehead from beneath the water's surface. I was drawn to the eagle since it
was flying in a manner I'm not accustomed to seeing in a bald eagle, flying
very swiftly and a foot or two above the water. It flew this way for several
hundred yards before flaring out and pulling the duck out of the water. It
must have timed the duck's ability to remain underwater so that the duck was
coming to the surface where it could be caught, or else the water was too
shallow for the duck to dive deep enough to escape.

Scott Ray
209 So. 40th Ave
Yakmia, WA 98908
509/965-5456