ML116047981
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age and sex
- Juvenile, Unknown sex - X
Observation details
About 3:30PM, I was standing on the south side of the main pond, looking at Greater Yellow-legs and chatting with two other birders (a couple from Forest Grove) when we suddenly noticed two dark raptors approaching rapidly (quite high up) from the north. They suddenly stooped on the yellow-legs and Killdeers at the south edge of the main pond, which caused all the yellow-legs and Killdeer to flush. When they came up empty (no prey) they rapidly gained altitude and stooped on the shorebirds a second time, further scattering them. When the two birds came up empty the second time, as quickly as they had arrived from the north a minute or less before, they gained altitude and continued flying on south and out of sight. The thought that they were Peregrines flashed through my mind for an instant, but for some reason I dismissed that thought from my mind, as they looked larger to me at the time and instead (erroneously), began focusing on hawk species and spent at least 30 minutes with my Sibley's 2nd ed. guide, comparing my photos with the photos in Sibley. Sibley's description for Swainson's Hawk seemed to me to best fit the birds we saw, but after input from several of my more experienced birder friends, I was saved from further embarrassment. As agile and swift as these two birds were, I should have known they were falcons.
Technical information
- Model
- Canon EOS 60D
- ISO
- 400
- Focal length
- 375 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire, auto
- f-stop
- f/10.0
- Shutter speed
- 1/2000 sec
- Dimensions
- 3574 pixels x 2188 pixels
- Original file size
- 2.9 MB