After deciding to take a last-minute drive through Baskett Slough and north
yesterday (November 25 )evening, we were also present for late-in-the-day
“looks” at the GYRFALCON near dusk. There appears to be a carcass out in the
“second field” east of Livermore Rd right at the previously mentioned single
post (we count the “first field” as being next to the road). The carcass is
several feet north of a brown grass field, which the bird went into at least
once.
We were further south on Livermore Road than the other group, and from our
perspective we saw a bird coming in low and fast from the north/Northwest to
land out in the field. This was followed by loud, vocal alarm calls from a
slender, plain-looking bird that turned out to be the gyrfalcon interacting
with a red-tailed hawk (RTHA) sitting in the field. When the red-tailed hawk
left, the gyrfalcon moved onto a carcass. We got the impression of
feathers/plucking and eating.
The vocal diagnostics were helpful, since the distance made visual diagnostics
difficult. (Foolishly we left the scope at home in our scramble to get out the
door). The overall impression was a plain, brown-backed bird with darker
wings. From the front you could see a light-colored chin but other than that
the bird looked, well, plain and brown. When standing in the field its posture
looked horizontal compared to the more upright posture of a standing RTHA. A
second interaction with a RTHA drove the gyrfalcon off the carcass and into the
brown field. The hawk seemed more interested in the falcon than the carcass,
and when it moved to get closer to the gyrfalcon the gyrfalcon went scuttling
back to the carcass and the hawk eventually left. We waited until well after
sunset in hopes the bird would get up and fly by but no such luck.
Dan & Ariel
Dallas, OR
