Today I had an unusual raptor sighting in Grand Rapids. I was in my vehicle at
the L&M parking lot when a raptor that I think was chasing a pigeon flew over
about 40' up. It surprised me so I wasn't able to get binoculars on it but I
did jump out of the truck. It appeared stocky and was completely white
beneath...no markings that I could see. It had a longish tail and short, broad
wings...though they could have appeared that way because they were bent sharply
at the wrist during its pursuit. It was definitely not a buteo and appeared
more falcon-like than accipiter, but I couldn't rule an accipiter out. It
disappeared behind a building for a moment and when I saw it reappear, it was
getting grief from a crow. It appeared as large, or slightly larger, than the
crow as it flew off in the direction of the DNR Headquarters.
In early February, another birder reported to me that he had gotten a brief
glimpse at a very pale falcon in Grand Rapids chasing pigeons. Is a Gyr
possible? A really, really light Peregrine? Could this be an escaped falconry
bird? All of the above?
Also, in Coleraine this afternoon, I counted (the best one can count these
flocks) 55 Bohemian Waxwings. They were foraging crabapples with a large flock
of robins and starlings. The flock of over 200 redpolls that I was handfeeding
(as many as 3 sitting on my hand at once!) in the inclement weather yesterday
dwindled to around 50 birds hanging out at my feeders today. They ripped a
hole in the thistle sock, so they're going to have to take turns at the tube
feeder now or put up with black oil sunflower seeds. C'est la vie. Shawn
Conradhttp://users.2z.net/itasca_chippewa_birding/
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