Hey, birders!

[summer_jackel]

Want to play a round of 'identify that bird?'

The below lovely feathered thing landed near us on the second day of the trip as we were having lunch at the lower Graveyard Lake. I believe it to be a gyrfalcon, which species apparently does inhabit the high Sierras. Her flight pattern looked more like a falcon than an accipiter to me, she was about the right size, and though I wasn't able to get great pictures of her, they did sort of come out, and they look like a brown-phase gyrfalcon to me.

If it is, I will be very excited. It's a species that I love, and I have never seen either captive or in the wild. Whatever she was, she was a beautiful bird.

Other birds I spotted included a redtailed hawk, osprey, Clark's nutcracker, one little hummingbird at high elevation (calliope?) and a cute little yellowish thing that I've not had time to try to ID yet. But name for me this raptor, please.

And camera people, I am starting to get a tiny little bit less clueless and overwhelmed by my DSLR. What lenses do you like for shooting wild birds that aren't very close to you?

Comments

[kynekh-amagire.livejournal.com]

It's mostly the wide banded marks on the tail that makes me think "Cooper's hawk". Of course, I've never seen a gyrfalcon. (Seen lots of Coops, though.) Could be a shinnie, too. They're pretty similar-looking. Was it teensy?

Edit: Never mind that last bit. "About the right size for a gyrfalcon" = "not a sharp-shinned hawk".

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Cooper's looks like it would be a possibility, although this fellow definitely had facial markings that resemble pics of brown gyrfalcons I've found laying around the internets (eg http://sdakotabirds.com/species_photos/gyrfalcon.htm) more than these Cooper's pics.

I THINK she was around the right size. Wikipedia says "This species is a very large falcon, about the same size as the largest buteos... In dimensions, gyrfalcons lie between a large Peregrine Falcon and a hawk in general structure; they are unmistakably falcons with pointed wings, but are stockier, broader-winged, and longer-tailed than the Peregrine."

The wings/flight style really looked falconish to me, and this definitely was not a peregrine. It looked...roughly the size of a red-shouldered? I wish I was better at bird IDs!

[genmaicha.livejournal.com]

I have to say, it feels more accipiter than falcon to me.

And I'm looking close at the eyes... They look pale to me, the irises. A gyrfalcon would have very dark eyes that would therefore look very large in the head.

I actually think what you have here is an immature Northern Goshawk. (http://k53.pbase.com/o3/18/757118/1/87971844.YQNAZt3x.IMG_4477_nogo1.jpg) Which is pretty darn awesome, as they are a pretty elusive species that sticks to the wilderness.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

oh wow, lovely bird, could certainly be it. And I definitely found it in the wilderness.

What makes you think it might be that, and not a Cooper's? (I don't know what I'd like to know about birds, and am taking this as a learning opportunity). Thanks for the ID!

[genmaicha.livejournal.com]

Well, now I'm reading a bit deeper and it seems the tail is the more obvious point, and this tail does sound thinner than expected in a gos. So maybe it is a Coop's. A bit more likely, given that Coop's are more widespread than gos. Possibly you can only put this down as Accipiter spp. rather than a definite ID, but now I'm leaning more toward Coop's as the most likely ID.

They're tough calls, the immie accipiters; a female sharpie is about the size of a male Coop's, and a female Coop's can be the size of a male gos. It's mostly habitat and smaller details of appearence that can be used to tell them apart, and since Coop's and sharpies are fairly cosmopolitan and can be found in suburban backyards, that's the usual question of accipiter ID. When it comes to Coop's and gos, it gets tougher; gos prefer higher elevation/northerly coniferous, so you'd find them higher up than a Coop's, but a Coop's is likelier in mixed forest, and range overlap is something else to keep in mind.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

The things that make me think it's a Cooper's hawk: the location (Gyr's like wide, open habitats) and the eyes (too light) and the long tail. Could be a juvenile, probably a female if it's as large as I think it is by the pics:





Plus, the feet are way too small (a gyr's talons would completely encircle that branch).

Oh, and the most likely reason: this time of year, gyr's are nesting far to the north-- Alaska and points north.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

OK, Cooper's makes a lot of sense (although note that despite the tree it landed in long enough for me to catch its picture, I spotted this bird in a very wide-open space, just under 10,000 feet in the mountains, right at the treeline).

What do you think of Selasphorus' opinion of possible immature Northern Goshawk, above?

Thanks for the ID help!

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Goshawk is possible (a juvie-- adults have a finer pattern to their breast feathers), but unlikely: the eyes are the key here-- goshawks have either bright yellow or red eyes. Most likely a big, beautiful female Cooper's hawk.

Wide-open spaces: usually nothing with many trees or hills/mountains. Tundra, plains-- they need a lot of clear space to hunt, and they hunt stuff that doesn't hide in brush or trees.

I got to hold a peregrine falcon a long time ago when I was a falconry apprentice (never got past that stage): his taloned foot covered my hand. Each talon was nearly as long as my fingers! I saw a gyrfalcon at the California Falconry Club meet: my ghod! His feet were HUGE! (<--and that was a male: 1/3 smaller than a female!).

Still, a gorgeous set of pictures! Gos or gyr or Coop: you were really lucky to see such a great bird!

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Oh, I am quite content to ID her as a Cooper's; just trying to figure out how to tell.

It was really a fantastic sighting; she was really close! Quite the lovely bird. I was thrilled.

[pelzig.livejournal.com]

I have a 75/300 zoom lens for my Canon 350D that has vibration compensation. I haven't tried shooting birds in nature (the pix of the Bronx Zoo on my Facebook page were able to be done close-up) with it but I should and see what the results are.

[lyosha.livejournal.com]

Definitely not a gyr-- no ifs, ands or buts about it. It's not a falcon, it's an accipiter, and although I hate to disagree with selasphorus, the tail banding and length of the primaries says immature Cooper's to me, and not goshawk.

In any event, beautiful bird and a great sighting!

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I am going to call her a Cooper's, then. :)

She was very exciting to see. Really pretty bird.

[raveness-d.livejournal.com]

I was going to chime in with my "Cooper's" ID, but everyone beat me to it.

[troubleagain.livejournal.com]

I have way too much of a tremor in my hands tobe really comfortable with the longer lens in most situations. Only in the brightest light can I hold the camera steady enough for the long lens (for example, last night's Buccaneers game on my flickr.) But if the light's good, I LOVE my long lens for shooting birds.

[skorzy.livejournal.com]

I do not believe its a Gyrfalcon, primarily because those birds have dark irises at all stages of life. Your bird has yellow irises. Also its brow doesn't quite have the profile of a gyrfalcon. More accipiter shaped too. Difficult to judge size from the pics, but I'd argue you've got a juvenile Coopers hawk there. Possibly a Sharp-Shinned Hawk? But I suck at telling those two birds apart! What would be telling is if there are even white/brown bands on the tail that end sharply. There's a hint in the photo that there might be, and that with the other observations makes me think juvenile Coopers.

I thought it could've been a juvenile Goshawk, but a quick look at Sibleys reminds me that they have a very prominent white supercilium. This bird does not.

[wastedmouthfull.livejournal.com]

She is a pretty bird whatever she is but I agree with the coopers hawk, diagnoses.

Chickens and Dragons

[mooncatx.livejournal.com]

I wanna go and take pictures of birds now! Seriously thinking of popping over to Best Buy and looking at cameras. My old enourmous dino of a camera is sooo heavy. New ones today are like so tiny!!! Off hawk, I recently saw a book on Chickens in Barnes and Nobles and was really surprised how many different kinds with awesome beautiful colors and feathers there were. SOme looked like they had ocelot or jaguar spotting and I wanted them so bad *^_^* heh...

PS... LOOK AT YOUR DRAGON SCROLL -- I putted pretty things there for youse :)

mcx

Re: Chickens and Dragons

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Oh, squee, dragons! I _love_ them, thank you very much...and a scaly egg, too! My new favorite kind!

CHickens are fantastic and overlooked pets. Raise them from chicks, and they are friendly and trusting. They are often quite beautiful. A few hens are quiet and can be kept in even a very minimal suburban backyard---I have even seen chickens happily in busy cities. They eat your cooking scraps and give you a regular supply of delicious eggs that are better than anything you get at the store. How are they not more commonly kept? Really. Chickens. I've seen the light, man. It clucks.

The book you saw was probably 'Extraordinary Chickens.' Gold-laced wyandottes look like they have a spotted pattern, as do the mille fleurs and some others. I love Wyandottes; had the loveliest rooster once.

[dustmeat.livejournal.com]

I was going to say Sharp-Shinned Hawk but I do not have a photo link :/

[mooncatx.livejournal.com]

nods probably. i may have to pick it up as it's hard to find any decent chicken sites. I was thinking maybe a set of silkies, blue ones, sigh.

lick

must go bed, work early shift... mew

loves loves loves onna you