I saw a lovely young gyrfalcon on my parent's farm this morning. He was hunting in our upper acreage, cruising about 20ft off the ground in the breeze. We have noticed him several times in the last year on the north end of the island and I suspect he must have made his home up here.
Gyrfalcons are an artic bird and are not common at all in temperate climates but there have been reports of several in the Skagit Valley.
Grey and snowy white. I guess by his coloration he is very young. About the size of a Swainson's hawk. I'm carrying my cameras with me a lot these days so I'll try and get a photo of him in the coming months.
Posted by artandscience at February 28, 2004 07:28 AM