Birders, Yesterday morning while observing the Rusty Blackbirds, Mark Chavez and I saw a light, almost tan colored Gyrfalcon. The encounter was too fast and short to get any pictures. It was overcast and the light was flat. The falcon flew towards us from the north. Mark got a good look at the heavy broad chest w/ broad streaking. I heard the wings as it turned west up Clear Creek. The bird was about Redtail size and I would estimate the wingspread at about 4 feet. The wings were broad but came to a point. The flight was typical falcon with fast shallow strong wingbeats and it glided only once as I watched it turn NNW. It did not have dark axilliaries like a Prairie and the back was slightly darker than the underwings or chest. The size, shape and flight were similar to other Gyr's I have seen. We later drove north on HWY 93 to Hwy 128 but were unable to relocate it.
Ira Sanders Golden, CO -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds". To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en Visit the CFO Website at: www.cfo-link.org
