[wisb] ID help - distant sighting
- From: Peter Fissel <pfissel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Wisconsin Birding Network <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:58:45 -0500
Okay, I'm stumped. I was waiting for the bus after work on the UW-Madison
campus today. Looking up at the clouds, I noticed a very far up bird soaring
that I initially took for a gull - long, narrow wings, short tail, no wing
flapping, etc. But something bugged me, so I got out my trusty mini-binoculars
and tried to find it, which took some time (8x22s don't have much of a field of
view.) I finally did get it in view - not a gull, more like a raptor. In the
few seconds I had a clear look, the thing that really jumped out at me was the
large black patches on the TRAILING edge of the wings (my very first thought
was that it was a Roughlegged Hawk, to give you an idea of the size of the
patches, but the placement was completely wrong - definitely not "wrist
marks".) Stupidly, at that point I decided to switch from my polarized
sunglasses to my regular ones, and of course I couldn't relocate the bird after
that. This bird was WAY up - at least a couple thousand feet.
As soon as I got home, I looked through every field guide I own, including the
Ligouri book "Hawks from every angle." The only thing I've found that comes
remotely close to what I remember seeing is an immature Mississippi Kite that
is still retaining dark secondaries. But those pictures usually show the dark
patch as rectangular - "my" bird had almost half-oval patches. Unfortunately,
I just don't remember any other specific plumage details, although I believe
the leading edge of the wings was dark and the body/tail light-colored.
Anybody have any other suggestions?
Peter Fissel
Madison, Dane Co.
####################
You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding
Network (Wisbirdn).
To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn.
To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn.
Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn.
Other related posts:
- » [wisb] ID help - distant sighting - Peter Fissel
