[obol] Re: Coos Gyr, lotsa Cacklers 10/18/2014
- From: Tim Rodenkirk <timrodenkirk@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: David Irons <llsdirons@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 04:57:51 -0700
The migration route difference makes sense Dave, I wonder how the Gyr(s)
find the cacklers? There has been a Gyr or several Gyrs that show up where
the Aleutian cacklers are for the past decade or so. The Gyr reports have
followed the cacklers south into CA some years also if I remember correctly.
Tim R
Coos Bay
On Mon, Oct 20, 2014 at 11:40 PM, David Irons <llsdirons@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> Alan et al.,
>
> I suspect that the apparent connection between the arrival of Aleutian
> Cackling Geese and the earliest Gyrfalcons of the season in Coos County is
> temporal only and that it has little to do with the route each species took
> to get here. As a general rule, raptors are diurnal migrants whose
> migratory routes are mostly over land, which allows them to take advantage
> of thermal uplift that occurs during daylight hours. Aleutian Cackling
> Geese take a more direct route from their Arctic breeding grounds, which
> takes them across well over a thousand miles of open ocean. When migrating,
> geese to continue flying all day and all night, making a mostly non-stop
> flight. When hunting waterfowl, falcons essentially blast their prey to the
> ground with a high-speed stoop from above. I can't imagine a falcon, even a
> Gyr grabbing a goose out of midair or carrying one very far after knocking
> it down into the water. With no terra firma on which to dine, what point
> would there be to the falcons following their prey base out over the open
> ocean?
>
> Dave Irons
> Portland, OR
>
> ------------------------------
> Subject: [obol] Re: Coos Gyr, lotsa Cacklers 10/18/2014
> From: acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx
> Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 15:06:26 -0700
> CC: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: timrodenkirk@xxxxxxxxx
>
>
> There has been a pattern of occasional October Gyrs on the south coast. I
> wonder if they simply fly down with the geese. Why not?
> .
> .
> Alan Contreras
> acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx
>
> Eugene, Oregon
>
>
>
>
> On Oct 20, 2014, at 3:01 PM, Tim Rodenkirk wrote:
>
> Jim Heaney observed a GYRFALCON at New River, Coos this past weekend (on
> Saturday). I remember when Dave Pitkin was still alive, that he observed a
> Gyrhanging with the ALEUTIAN CACKLING GEESE in that same area for a few
> falls and perhaps followed the flocks down from Alaska. I was with Terry
> Wahl on Sunday (the 19th) and he got a call from Rick McKenzie who has a
> large ranch near New Lake in the same area where the Gyr was seen. Rick
> said he had 20,000 Aleutians on his ranch, a pretty huge number for fall
> (perhaps the most he has had on his place this time of year?).
>
> Jim mentioned seeing the Gyr carrying a gull but also saw evidence of
> cackler kills along the beach there...
>
> Merry migration!
> Tim R
> Coos Bay
>
>
>
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