[nysbirds-l] Fwd: [MASSBIRD] Hadley Gyrfalcon -- improved chances
Hi All, To summarize Marshall Iliff's lengthy email below, there has been a gorgeous immature male gray morph Gyrfalcon frequenting the agricultural areas of Northampton, Hadley, and Amherst MA since mid-December, which has been incredibly difficult to pin down. However, over the weekend the birds' roost was discovered, greatly improving chances of finding the gyr. However due to the sensitivity of rare bird roost, viewing is being moderated by a google doc spreadsheet, where you can sign up to receive more detailed information about this bird. The central Connecticut River Valley is only 2.5-3 hours away from NYC-- essentially the same distance from NYC to the Catskills or Montauk. Though the google doc is certainly an extra hurdle it is well worth the trouble, as this bird is a beast to behold. Good Birding, Jacob Drucker Amherst, MA Begin forwarded message: > From: Marshall Iliff > Date: February 20, 2013 4:15:11 PM EST > To: Massbird > Subject: [MASSBIRD] Hadley Gyrfalcon -- improved chances > Reply-To: Marshall Iliff > > Massbird, > > With some trepidation, we are going to try to release news of a rare bird. > This is not a "new" rarity, but one that has been present for some time. > Those that have *really* wanted to see it, have had 3 months to try. > Persistence has paid off for many. But this bird is not easy to find and > there is now a strategy that will improve chances greatly. The bird is the > Hadley Gyrfalcon. > > On Saturday, 16 Feb 2013, I birded the Connecticut River Valley. I was most > hoping to catch up with the Gyrfalcon, which I had not yet seen (although I > arrived on 31 Jan at East Hadley St. while several people were watching it > fly off…another story). I did a couple full circuits of the standard > fields--Aqua Vitae, Honeypot, South Maple St.--and had no luck. Since there > had been recent reports (no photos of which I am aware) of the Gyrfalcon in > the Honeypot area around 5pm, I went there at 16:15 and waited. > > I felt silly, since I had never really believed that the Gyrfalcon would > roost in that area. Some of the area mountains have superb cliffs that are > perfect for a Gyr. On my previous visit (31 Jan) I had tried to find the > roost near Mount Tom, and failed. My focus on the roost site was not only > because that would be a good way for me to find it, but also because > Gyrfalcons cover tens of square miles daily, and the only reliable way for > other birders to find it would be to discover the roost. > > So I waited at the Honeypot, uncertain whether I was there because the > Gyrfalcon had really been here, or because the Rt. 9 Peregrines were > regularly being misidentified as a Gyrfalcon. There clearly has been a lot of > Gyrfalcon excitement, and early on I even saw photos of a Merlin (!) > identified as a Gyrfalcon. Peregrines can be very tough to tell from Gyr, > especially in flight or when distant. This mistake is totally understandable, > but it does make it hard to find the "real" Gyr, when reports are muddied by > misidentifications. With no offense intended to those who had reported Gyr > there, I felt more and more like I was in the wrong place as time wore on. > When an adult Peregrine arrived and perched in a distant tree, I decided to > change my strategy. I was right to do so -- the dusk sightings of "the Gyr" > have almost certainly pertained to Peregrines (I'd be interested in any > evidence to show otherwise). > > While standing at the Honeypot I had a tip from another birder about where > the Gyr had flown off to at 16:30 one evening, and I had seen some rocks that > seemed like a potential roost. So I headed straight there. I had 10 minutes > of daylight left and it was 15 minutes away. > > When I got there, the immature gray morph Gyr was sitting right on the rocks > and possibly the first thing in my binoculars when I raised them to scan the > cliff. It was a thrilling and wonderful end to the day. > > That was followed by a bit of despair. Do I post this to eBird right now? I > had BirdLog on my phone, had the GPS point, and could have posted to eBird > right then while still looking at the bird. That would have meant an alert > going out to hundreds, maybe thousands, of people. I was unsure if the > viewing point I had used was private, or if they would be willing to handle > tens of cars each night until the bird left. Earlier that day there had been > private landowner issues at Kaveski Farm, greatly magnified by the deep snow > and limited road shoulders. Should I be a part of creating another situation > like this? > > So I called some friends locally and discussed. They confirmed my instinct > that my viewing point was not a good one for the masses from Massbird. They > echoed my concerns about posting it until we had a chance to talk to property > owners. One mentioned that it was his CBC area, and bad birder behavior could > jeopardize future access. >
[nysbirds-l] Fwd: [MASSBIRD] Hadley Gyrfalcon -- improved chances
Hi All, To summarize Marshall Iliff's lengthy email below, there has been a gorgeous immature male gray morph Gyrfalcon frequenting the agricultural areas of Northampton, Hadley, and Amherst MA since mid-December, which has been incredibly difficult to pin down. However, over the weekend the birds' roost was discovered, greatly improving chances of finding the gyr. However due to the sensitivity of rare bird roost, viewing is being moderated by a google doc spreadsheet, where you can sign up to receive more detailed information about this bird. The central Connecticut River Valley is only 2.5-3 hours away from NYC-- essentially the same distance from NYC to the Catskills or Montauk. Though the google doc is certainly an extra hurdle it is well worth the trouble, as this bird is a beast to behold. Good Birding, Jacob Drucker Amherst, MA Begin forwarded message: From: Marshall Iliff mil...@aol.com Date: February 20, 2013 4:15:11 PM EST To: Massbird massb...@theworld.com Subject: [MASSBIRD] Hadley Gyrfalcon -- improved chances Reply-To: Marshall Iliff mil...@aol.com Massbird, With some trepidation, we are going to try to release news of a rare bird. This is not a new rarity, but one that has been present for some time. Those that have *really* wanted to see it, have had 3 months to try. Persistence has paid off for many. But this bird is not easy to find and there is now a strategy that will improve chances greatly. The bird is the Hadley Gyrfalcon. On Saturday, 16 Feb 2013, I birded the Connecticut River Valley. I was most hoping to catch up with the Gyrfalcon, which I had not yet seen (although I arrived on 31 Jan at East Hadley St. while several people were watching it fly off…another story). I did a couple full circuits of the standard fields--Aqua Vitae, Honeypot, South Maple St.--and had no luck. Since there had been recent reports (no photos of which I am aware) of the Gyrfalcon in the Honeypot area around 5pm, I went there at 16:15 and waited. I felt silly, since I had never really believed that the Gyrfalcon would roost in that area. Some of the area mountains have superb cliffs that are perfect for a Gyr. On my previous visit (31 Jan) I had tried to find the roost near Mount Tom, and failed. My focus on the roost site was not only because that would be a good way for me to find it, but also because Gyrfalcons cover tens of square miles daily, and the only reliable way for other birders to find it would be to discover the roost. So I waited at the Honeypot, uncertain whether I was there because the Gyrfalcon had really been here, or because the Rt. 9 Peregrines were regularly being misidentified as a Gyrfalcon. There clearly has been a lot of Gyrfalcon excitement, and early on I even saw photos of a Merlin (!) identified as a Gyrfalcon. Peregrines can be very tough to tell from Gyr, especially in flight or when distant. This mistake is totally understandable, but it does make it hard to find the real Gyr, when reports are muddied by misidentifications. With no offense intended to those who had reported Gyr there, I felt more and more like I was in the wrong place as time wore on. When an adult Peregrine arrived and perched in a distant tree, I decided to change my strategy. I was right to do so -- the dusk sightings of the Gyr have almost certainly pertained to Peregrines (I'd be interested in any evidence to show otherwise). While standing at the Honeypot I had a tip from another birder about where the Gyr had flown off to at 16:30 one evening, and I had seen some rocks that seemed like a potential roost. So I headed straight there. I had 10 minutes of daylight left and it was 15 minutes away. When I got there, the immature gray morph Gyr was sitting right on the rocks and possibly the first thing in my binoculars when I raised them to scan the cliff. It was a thrilling and wonderful end to the day. That was followed by a bit of despair. Do I post this to eBird right now? I had BirdLog on my phone, had the GPS point, and could have posted to eBird right then while still looking at the bird. That would have meant an alert going out to hundreds, maybe thousands, of people. I was unsure if the viewing point I had used was private, or if they would be willing to handle tens of cars each night until the bird left. Earlier that day there had been private landowner issues at Kaveski Farm, greatly magnified by the deep snow and limited road shoulders. Should I be a part of creating another situation like this? So I called some friends locally and discussed. They confirmed my instinct that my viewing point was not a good one for the masses from Massbird. They echoed my concerns about posting it until we had a chance to talk to property owners. One mentioned that it was his CBC area, and bad birder behavior could jeopardize future access. I had another concern.
