Birders,

Please note the attached report of a GYRFALCON from Jack Kintner of
Blaine.

Wayne C. Weber
Kamloops and Delta, BC
contopus at home.com


----- Original Message -----
From: Jack Kintner <kintner at nas.com>
To: <TRWahl at aol.com>
Cc: <whatcombirds at lists.wwu.edu>
Sent: Friday, November 23, 2001 5:46 PM
Subject: Immature dark-morph Gyr on Drayton Harbor Road



One of the best birding moments I've ever had.

This afternoon about 3:30 while driving out Drayton Harbor Road I saw
a very large falcon perched on the wire on the south side of the road
just east of the California Creek bridge. I could tell even with the
sun in my eyes, the bird in silhouette, that the tail extended well
beyond the primaries. I passed it carefully and gradually slowed to a
stop a short way down the road at the last turn-out before the bridge,
still to the east of the small drive-way, and had about five or six
minutes' look at the bird at a distance of about 100' with the sun
quartering behind me. It was obviously a falcon, with its big black
eye and was dark brown without any kind of obvious Peregrine-style
moustache or other markings, over-all a chocolaty brown with faint
streaking on the lower breast. By its size and other characteristics
I'm quite sure it was an immature dark-phase (oops - morph) Gyr, and
of course it would have been the perfect perfect shot had I my 400 mm
and Nikon back along. But it was a day off for this free-lance
photo-journalist, what can I say?