[Umpqua Birds] Re: N. Bank Road Large Falcon, etc.
- From: "Gayner, Elizabeth" <egayner@xxxxxxx>
- To: "umpquabirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <umpquabirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 08:01:53 -0800
Awesome you guys got to see the falcon and confirm it to PRFA!!! All I can
say though, is that it is a female PRFA on steroids. I have handled and
seen quite a few prairie falcons and that is by far the biggest female I
have ever seen. Thanks for taking the time to look for it and confirm it.
Great photos of eagles too. The crop on the GOEA is massive... it got a
good meal somewhere. :O). And the likely site you saw the pair of BAEA on
a nest was the "Whitetail" site (if on opposite side of the river). There
is also the "Quarry" site just down river from the Whitetail site. The
Quarry site's alternate nest is within about a mile of the Whitetail site.
There is a third nest site, "Sunshine-55", on the north side of the river
in a large cottonwood approximately 8.5 miles from the Wilbur end of N.
Bank Road. This one may be a good one for folks to photograph during the
nesting season... at least those of you with decent zooming cameras.
About 10+ years ago or so, I was with a falconer friend of mine and we did
see a gyrfalcon in the Lookingglass area when we were flying his
peregrine. It was a brief glimpse of the gyr in flight. I do not think it
was officially documented though and I know I didn't report it to anybody.
For the birds,
*Liz*
*Elizabeth I. Gayner*
*OR/WA BLM Peregrine Falcon Technical Coordinator*
*Lead Wildlife Biologist - Swiftwater Field Office*
Bureau of Land Management - Roseburg District Office
Phone: (541) 464-3381; egayner@xxxxxxx
On Mon, Jan 19, 2015 at 9:50 PM, Matthew G Hunter <matthewghunter@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> Greetings Birders,
>
> Mark Hamm and I spent this morning and early afternoon up N. Umpqua Hwy
> and N. Bank Rd. Our main goal was to relocate the large falcon that Liz
> Gayner reported and photographed last week. Amazingly, we were successful,
> we think, and it turned out to be a large:
>
> PRAIRIE FALCON (photos and video linked below). We birded up the N. Umpqua
> Hwy, then as we headed south on N. Bank Road, we stopped several places and
> finally reached about 4 miles south of the bridge and immediately saw a
> candidate large falcon in a lone black oak tree to the north on the hill.
> Upon putting our scopes on the bird, we could see that it was a
> gyrfalcon/prairie falcon type bird--gray-brown with a fairly light face. It
> was facing right and away from us, so we could not see its front. As it
> turned its head we could see that it had a dark whisker mark, pale cheek,
> another dark mark farther back on its head, and a contrasting pale eyebrow.
> We could also see that the wingtips fell short of the tip of the tail, but
> not as far as would be the case for a gyrfalcon. Based on looking at ours
> and Liz Gayner's photos, the bird was in the very same tree as during her
> observation, and at nearly the same time (between 1015 and 1030). Because
> of this, we presume it is the same bird that she saw. After several
> minutes, the falcon flew to the east about a quarter mile to the top of
> another tree on our side of the ridge. Several minutes later it flew down
> over the ridge to the north and out of sight for us. We stayed around for
> another half hour or so, but did not see it reappear. We also came back
> briefly in the afternoon, but did not see it. I suggest that anyone
> wanting to see the bird go there in the morning and just sit and wait at
> the location (making sure your observation includes 1000-1030). Of course
> there is no guarantee, but this "repeat" seems hopeful.
>
> We also took a short walk within the North Bank Habitat Management Area,
> NE from the interior picnic/parking area. Some highlights, of which I have
> photos, include:
>
> GOLDEN EAGLES--at least two different immature birds. Note what appears to
> be a very full crop (bulge between the chest and throat of the bird) on the
> second bird with the greater white in the base of the tail.
>
> "YELLOW" immature GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW--I'm pretty sure it's a
> Golden-crowned Sparrow. It was mostly yellowish and whitish. Beautiful
> bird. I'm not 100% sure what the condition is called, but I think it is a
> condition where melanin is lacking, but the carotinoid pigments
> (reds/yellows) are still produced (I think Sibley calls this "Lacking
> Eumelanin" (
> http://www.sibleyguides.com/2011/08/abnormal-coloration-in-birds-melanin-reduction/).
> In the photos, notice that where the Golden-crowned Sparrow would have
> yellowish or warm tones (especially about the forecrown) the bird is very
> yellow there. And where it would be darker or have more melanin for
> durability, such as near the wingtips, it is more whitish. I'm just
> thinking out loud, so if you have any insights or thoughts, I would be
> interested in hearing them.
>
> WRENTITS--Not rare, but we had gorgeous looks of these quite
> cinnamon-pinkish-breasted individuals. There are several subspecies of
> Wrentits in Oregon, and what we have in the central Umpqua Valleys is
> unclear, so it is fun to get some photos of what ours look like.
> Photographs show the bird getting a poison oak berry.
>
> BALD EAGLE--I included a couple photos of a very dark immature Bald Eagle,
> so you could compare with the immature Golden Eagles (compare shape, size
> of head vs tail, amount and placement of white). I didn't include a photo,
> but want to mention... from a pullout on N. Bank Rd. Mark and I saw a pair
> of adults across the river (I don't remember the mile marker) at a known
> nest location, and the female was standing on the nest.
>
> Photos and video at
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewghunter/sets/72157650390997475/
> In this set I include Liz Gayner's photos for reference, then my falcon
> photos, a short video of the bird in flight, then a still grabbed from
> another video to show the dark wingpits, ... then photos of the eagles and
> other birds mentioned.
>
> The location from which we first observed the Prairie Falcon can be found
> associated with this checklist from that location (but there are better
> areas to park nearby):
> http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S21428435
>
> Enjoy! And good luck to anyone who goes to look for the Prairie Falcon.
> They do occur here on occasion, but it has been many years since I've seen
> one here; they are few and far between. I am not aware of any documented
> records of Gyrfalcon for Douglas County (anyone?).
>
> Best,
>
> Matt Hunter
>
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