[tn-bird] Very Odd Coincidence

I'm going to try e-mailing this again to see if it comes out any better=
.
The last one came across with
the text all broken up.  I apologize if this one does the same, I'm not=

sure what's causing it as it looks
fine before I send it.

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

Well as Jeff mentioned we did have a very white, small raptor sitting i=
n
the tree line back to the east
while we were at the observation tower at Black Bayou Refuge in Lake Co=
unty
on Saturday.  It was
around 6 pm when we noticed the bird and when we tried to move down the=

road for a closer look the
bird left.  The bird actually left between the time that I looked at th=
e
bird through my binoculars after we
had moved a 100 yards closer and the time that we set up our scopes.  I=
n
that few seconds the bird
disappeared so we never saw it in flight.

I was going over and over in my mind Saturday night  about the bird.=A0=
 I
went through a  list of "possible"
species assuming just for the sake of assuming that  the bird was not a=
n
albino or leucistic individual.
Here's what I did with  my possible list:

The bird appeared too be pretty small to me, probably about  crow-sized=

which would immediately
eliminate light raptors like Gyrfalcon and  Ferruginous Hawk just on si=
ze
alone.=A0 I do remember some
Mallards flying  across in front of this bird and it just didn't appear=
 to
be Red-tailed size so  I believe
we can probably rule out an abberant Red-tailed Hawk as well.=A0  Also =
Jeff &
I both commented while
looking at it that the bird appeared small.=A0 The bird  was obviously =
a
diurnal-type raptor so we can
also rule out the light owls -  Snowy and Barn.=A0 The bird did have an=

"owl-like" look to the head
although the head was obviously too narrow for an owl.=A0 What species =
have
an "owl-like" appearance?
Northern Harrier of course immediately  comes to mind but this bird was=
 way
too white for even a very
light male harrier  which would show a gray look to the head and some
darker feathering on the upper
breast.=A0 The next candidates would be the kites of which we can elimi=
nate
Mississippi right off the bat
as it is gray and not white, especially on the  breast.=A0 Swallow-tail=
ed
Kite is quite a bit larger and has that
long forked  black tail.=A0 It's also less "owl-like" in appearance.=A0=
 That
leaves White-tailed Kite.=A0 It's about
the right size, is somewhat  "owl-like" in appearance, and is completel=
y
white on the front side  (and we
never saw the back of the bird).=A0 I could not rule out this species  =
no
matter what scenario I came up with.

Now here's the really interesting part.=A0 Last night I  received a cal=
l from
a friend of mine I used to work with
and he told me that  his wife and he were at Reelfoot yesterday (Sunday=
)
and that they had a really
interesting  bird that they wanted to ask me about.=A0 He says they saw=
 it at
Black Bayou  and when they first
saw it the bird was hover-hunting.=A0 They watched it for  a few second=
s
before it landed in a small tree.
After it landed he said  they noticed that the bird had black shoulders=
, a
gray back, a white front, and  a
white tail.=A0 He said after a couple of minutes that the bird flew up,=

circled a couple of times and then flew
off to the southeast towards the  treeline.=A0 They were at the observa=
tion
platform when they saw the  bird.
He said it was somewhere around 1 pm yestersay afternoon.=A0 They are  =
fairly
new birders but they're
very observant.=A0 He asked me was a  White-tailed Kite possible up the=
re and
I told him that there was
one seen in  that exact spot last year in May.=A0 He's convinced that's=
 what
he saw and I  told him that from
the description that he gave me that's what he  described.=A0 How's tha=
t for
an odd coincidence?

Good birding,

Mark Greene
Trenton, TN=


=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================

The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
-----------------------------------------------------
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
----------------------------------------------------- 
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
     Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
          web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
    TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
        jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx      (423) 764-3958
=========================================================

Other related posts: