[Bristol-Birds] Re: A Raptor Visitation in Greene Co., TN - retraction/revision
- From: dnldhlt@xxxxxxx
- To: bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 17 May 2005 13:38:50 -0400
Regarding my possible Kite sighting of May 12, my exercise in self-doubt
continues. Having finally had the opportunity to review several guides other
than Sibley's, I found out that Mississippi Kites sometimes appear to be
somewhat fork-tailed.
What I saw would better fit Mississippi Kite than Swallow-tailed. I had
assumed that first year plumage or moulting of outer tail feathers in
Swallow-tailed Kites would explain the less elongated outer tail feathers of
the bird I saw, but the illustrations of young Swallow-tailed Kites I found
were still not quite like what I saw. The fork proportions on the bird I saw
were similar to, or slightly more deeply forked than, what is shown on the
illustration on Plate 6 c, page 29, of Hawks of North America Second Edition by
William S. Clark / Brian K. Wheeler, but my angle of view was quartering behind
and below.
Also, the bird seemed dark near the eye, a detail I had passed off as a
shadow of the beak, but which makes more sense as the facial pattern on a
Mississippi Kite. The angle I had on the face is closely matched in the
photograph on Plate 96, page 116 of Raptors of Eastern North America by Brian
K. Wheeler.
I did not feel that I could accurately determine the exact shade of
white/gray on the bird, due to the low angle and yellowish color of the
sunlight, but the color did seem to fade toward a lighter shade towards the
head.
I had nothing to refer to for a precise size comparison, as the Peregrine
Falcon above it was so much farther away.
Identifying a new and unfamiliar species is such an interesting and
enjoyable process. Sometimes the "obvious" just doesn't feel right. All in
all, I am much more confident of my identification of the bird as an adult
Mississippi Kite.
Don Holt
Johnson City, TN
-----Original Message-----
From: dnldhlt@xxxxxxx
To: bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Fri, 13 May 2005 00:01:18 -0400
Subject: [Bristol-Birds] A Raptor Visitation in Greene Co., TN
THU 12 MAY 2005
Clyde Austin 4-H Center, Greene Co., TN
D. Holt
A little after 6:30 pm I was listening to a WILSON'S WARBLER on the back forty
when I looked up through a large hole in the forest canopy and saw a raptor
soaring. It was a PEREGRINE FALCON, its body looking quite chunky, its wings
pointed, and its tail spread. Through my 8X32 Eagleoptics Rangers I could just
make out a hint of face pattern, but not in any detail.
Then another large raptor soared in beneath it, at about 3X canopy height,
with a light head and body and wing linings, but dark flight feathers and tail.
The wings were long and pointed, and the tail was evenly and markedly forked.
I
saw it for just a second or two as it soared over the canopy opening, then it
was behind the trees and headed into the sun.
You could have knocked me over with a feather. I have only seen a
SWALLOW-TAILED KITE well once before, but not from below like this, so I double
checked my eastern Sibley's (all I had with me at work), looking for any
similar
suspects. Even after my exercise in self-doubt, I remain convinced of the
obvious.
I was having a good birding day even before this last hurrah. Some of the
other species I most enjoyed seeing and hearing today were:
Northern Bobwhite
Green Heron
Red-tailed Hawk
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-headed Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Swainson's Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Orchard Oriole
Don Holt
Johnson City, TN
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BRISTOL BIRDS NET LIST
Bristol Birds Net Photo Gallery located at:
http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jwcoffeyy/album?.dir=/efd5
This is a regional birding list sponsored by the
Bristol Bird Club to facilitate communications
between birders and bird clubs of Southwest Virginia
and Northeast Tennessee.
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To post to this mailing list, simply send an email
to: bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe, send
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