Hi all,
I was one of the "students" on the trip with Dennis Paulson and John Tubbs yesterday to the Samish Flats, during which we saw the Gyrfalcon (at least that's what we hope it is!!). I have some additional photos that I have uploaded to my Flickr account of the large falcon we observed: http://tinyurl.com/248dwg
These photos are non-enhanced save some digital zooming in.
I do not have any field notes to add to Dennis's and Charlie's expert notes, however, I do believe my photos also show the tail extending much further than the folded wing. Using Sibley as my guide, I do concur with Steve Mlodinow that the "moustache" is much more prominent than illustrated in the perched Gray juvenile, and more closely match that of a Tundra Juvenile Peregrine. Hopefully, the field marks as a whole tip the balance decisively to an ID of Gyrfalcon.




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