[cayugabirds-l] Leucistic Red Tailed Hawk
Wilson Rd. Lansing, between Conlon & Buck Rds. In deciduous tree well back of the two eastern-most red barns on south side of road at 154 Wilson Rd. best seen approaching from Conlon Rd from E to W, just before arriving at the large white Federal style house. Donna Scott Lansing Sent from my iPhone -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk
While birding for the GBBC this weekend, we found another completely white leucitic Red-tailed Hawk on Black Rd, Town of Hector. This makes the 4th completely white red-tail this winter that we have found or know of. Others were an albino near the race track (Watkins Glen), one leucistic bird in Candor, one in Whitney point and this latest one a few miles from home. We worked with eagles and other raptors in the Chesapeake Bay area and banded thousands at Cape May for several years before arriving here in 1986 and had never seen such white raptors. In fact, the only leucistic bird in our memory was a partial on a cardinal in Maryland. Since then, we had seen only a few partially leucistic passerines in this area and one other leucistic hawk (the Ithaca Red-tail of a few years ago). Now in one season here are 4! Couple that with the several reports of leucism in passerines and one begins to wonder... We also had a rare pheasant yesterday, a Bald Eagle adult over Ed Gates' farm in Burdett Saturday afternoon and 190 Snow Buntings on Bergen Rd which is about a mile from here. During our road trip we also found some 2,900 Redheads and 99 Horned Larks among the many other excellent birds.. Best, John and Sue -- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ Conserve and Create Habitat -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk
Since the Ithaca leucistic Red-tail apparently bred successfully last year one has to wonder about any passing on of aberrant plumage genes. There was another heavily, but not all-white, leucistic RT which was often sighted in the vicinity of the King Rd/Rt 96B intersection, and its proximity to the white one made me curious about it being an offspring. The cause of increased evidence of leucism could well be environmental. Or since the RT particularly is known for that aberration and it seems as if they have continued a population boom which began with interstate highway system construction, maybe it is simply a reflection of that increase in population. Ah, the things we are curious about! Citizen science may bring us answers someday. asher On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 9:38 AM, John and Sue Gregoire k...@empacc.netwrote: While birding for the GBBC this weekend, we found another completely white leucitic Red-tailed Hawk on Black Rd, Town of Hector. This makes the 4th completely white red-tail this winter that we have found or know of. Others were an albino near the race track (Watkins Glen), one leucistic bird in Candor, one in Whitney point and this latest one a few miles from home. We worked with eagles and other raptors in the Chesapeake Bay area and banded thousands at Cape May for several years before arriving here in 1986 and had never seen such white raptors. In fact, the only leucistic bird in our memory was a partial on a cardinal in Maryland. Since then, we had seen only a few partially leucistic passerines in this area and one other leucistic hawk (the Ithaca Red-tail of a few years ago). Now in one season here are 4! Couple that with the several reports of leucism in passerines and one begins to wonder... We also had a rare pheasant yesterday, a Bald Eagle adult over Ed Gates' farm in Burdett Saturday afternoon and 190 Snow Buntings on Bergen Rd which is about a mile from here. During our road trip we also found some 2,900 Redheads and 99 Horned Larks among the many other excellent birds.. Best, John and Sue -- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/http://www.empacc.net/%7Ekestrelhaven/ Conserve and Create Habitat -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re:[cayugabirds-l] Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk
Hi, For over a decade there has been a white, but not albino, red tail on the west side of the town of Lodi, hanging around near Shaw Road. I have heard it is there year round but we don't drive by often enough in daylight in winter to confirm that it overwinters there. We have, however, seen it often in the spring/summer/fall. It has a dark eyes, dark beak, and yellow legs, but other than that it appears to be all white. According to a landowner there, as of this past October: The white hawk is fine, we see it and it's normally colored offspring regularly. I'm not sure about the lifespan of a redtail, but this one is at least 11 years old. Assuming it is still there as usual, that makes a 5th completely white one in the area. When we first saw it a nearly a decade ago, I googled around and found several reports photos of leucistic red-tails all over the country, so they were not unknown even then, but it does seem like a lot have popped up locally. Maybe it is a recessive genetic trait and there are enough genes floating around in the local gene pool that they are more common locally, like black squirrels in New England? Would there be any evolutionary pressure against a white red tail? There might not be any reason for them to be selected out of the population - the one in Lodi seems to have no trouble coming up with mates successfully fledging young. Alicia John and Sue Gregoire wrote: While birding for the GBBC this weekend, we found another completely white leucitic Red-tailed Hawk on Black Rd, Town of Hector. This makes the 4th completely white red-tail this winter that we have found or know of. Others were an albino near the race track (Watkins Glen), one leucistic bird in Candor, one in Whitney point and this latest one a few miles from home. We worked with eagles and other raptors in the Chesapeake Bay area and banded thousands at Cape May for several years before arriving here in 1986 and had never seen such white raptors. In fact, the only leucistic bird in our memory was a partial on a cardinal in Maryland. Since then, we had seen only a few partially leucistic passerines in this area and one other leucistic hawk (the Ithaca Red-tail of a few years ago). Now in one season here are 4! Couple that with the several reports of leucism in passerines and one begins to wonder... We also had a rare pheasant yesterday, a Bald Eagle adult over Ed Gates' farm in Burdett Saturday afternoon and 190 Snow Buntings on Bergen Rd which is about a mile from here. During our road trip we also found some 2,900 Redheads and 99 Horned Larks among the many other excellent birds.. Best, John and Sue -- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ Conserve and Create Habitat -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
