Hi Tweets,

Ruth Sullivan writes:

>i will respond:EARLY GYRFALCON:last year we had a gyrfalcon on october 21-
>1996 right on time. it was the day our first sowy owl in the state arrived
>at EDIZ HOOK clallam co.the gyrfalcon was sighted in sequim 3 crabs.it also
>was a ,brown-morph

If this pattern of Week 3 Oct arrival of these Arctic species is
consistent--i.e., "right on time"--it shows that Gyrfalcons and Snowy Owls
migrate down the outer coast *significantly*--two to three weeks--earlier
than they do through a slightly inland site like Vancouver BC. This could
really be worth checking out for pattern. An earlier coastal migration in
either direction is consistent with many other species, especially
passerines and waterfowl. What's unusual in this instance is not only the
degree of difference (usually, it's between a week and ten days rather than
two to three weeks) but that the two species showing it come from about the
same areas of the Arctic. Interesting!

I double-checked in Clark's 'Hawks' about this brown-morph Gyrfalcon
plumage, and he classes it as the juvenile plumage of the grey morph
Gyrfalcon, which I guess means it's technically a misnomer to call a
juvenile plumage a 'morph'. Best thing would be to look at the color of the
cere, eye-ring and feet: adults have yellow, juvs blue-grey, although as we
saw on a female gyr which arrived the first year as a brown morph juv and
left as a partly grey morph subadult, there's a messy overlap period when it
can have both juvenile and adult characteristics. Luckily that bird returned
to that site for about six years as a grey morph adult female.

Michael Price We aren't flying...we're falling with style!
Vancouver BC Canada -Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story
mprice at mindlink.net