After trying 3 X for the Rough-legged Hawk seen locally in the the Roanoke area of Riverhead by 2 local birders, and not connecting, I decided to try for at least one of the Ocean Pkwy/Jones Beach birds today. This trip became moot while driving through Calverton, en-route to the LIE, when a light-morph individual (my FOS) appeared over a field bordered by Manor La., Rt. 25, Edwards Ave and the "high line". This stroke of good fortune allowed me to "go locally", and since I was fairly close to the area that used to be the best bet out this way to see this specie, I headed for the Calverton Grasslands. While the light-morph bird found there probably was the 2nd of the day, it certainly could have been the one seen earlier.
I then headed toward the Roanoke area, to try for the immature N. Goshawk seen intermittently by a couple of local birders (I've seen photograph) on Reeves Ave, between Roanoke Ave & Doctors Path. Reeves Ave has mostly been associated with goose flocks, sparrows, raptors and bison, and although today offered no goshawk, it did provide 4 species of raptors: N. Harrier (Gray Ghost); Red-ta[l Hawk; A. Kestrel and another light morph Rough-legged Hawk(either the 2nd or 3rd of the day) ! And now for the kicker - I may have also seen a white morph Gyrfalcon off of Reeves Ave too ! This quick glimpse happened while I was still in the car and trying to make a perched Red-tail into a Rough-legged. I was still behind the wheel, looking through the open passenger-side window, when suddenly I became aware of a large, mostly white bird flying through the back of my binocular field. I was able to move with it for a very short time, before it passed behind buildings, and out of sight. By the time I got to the other side of the house, etc., it was gone. The Red-tail was ~ 100 yards n/o the road, with the mystery bird way out in the field, ~ 3 to 4 X that distance. It was flying fairly low ( ~ 30 to 40' off the ground), body mostly white, with dark wing tips, while it's back appeared light gray. The "jizz" I received from this bird was not that of a an owl, harrier, goose, etc., but that of a flying "Gyr". Initially, I was not going to mention this sighting, since my perception of this quick encounter could be faulty, but because of other's past postings re: "a large, white, falcon type bird" in this general area, as well as Angus Wilson's urging to be on the lookout for it, I have ! Cheers, Bob -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
