I went looking for the Gyr Tues afternoon but I think I found a Peregrine.
Having never seen a Gyrfalcon (much less the Snohomish one), I would
appreciate help with my ID.

The falcon I saw was not in the usual spot for the Gyr. It was perched in a
barren tree about 250 yds west of the bridge over the Pilchuck River (along
Snohomish-Monroe Rd). The bird was facing away from me which provided good
views of the back, tail, and wings with occasionaly views of the face. Here
is my reasoning for the Peregrine ID.

size - this bird was noticeably smaller than the numerous red-tails I had
already viewed today.

head - slate gray cap with a clear moustache mark. The moustache mark was
not as wide as shown on some peregrine photos but is was much more
noticeable than indicated for a typical gyr.

back - slate gray all over the back with no noticeable mottling.

tail - slate gray with a very narrow light terminal band.

wingtips - I spent quite a bit of time waiting for a good view of the length
of the wingtips relative to the tail (since my field guide mentioned this as
a distinguishing factor between Peregrine and Gyr). Eventually I determined
that the wingtips were close to the same length as the tail. For most of
the time, the bird's wingtips were crossed over each other (and thus
shorter). When it stretched, the wingtips momentarily aligned on either
side of the tail it they looked to be approximately the same length as the
tail.

Steve Preston
Bellevue, WA
mailto: stevepr at acm.org