ML323381471

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

This falcon was observed along the Chehalis Western Trail between Military and 507, circled over a woodland opening for approx. 1-2 minutes before heading North over private land. Initially we were calling it a MERL, but wings appeared long and narrow, and flight pattern lacked the speed and acrobatics one would expect from a MERL. The bird looked a little larger than a MERL, but not as large and bulky as a PEFA. The most notable field mark was buffy/rufous undertail coverts which we both commented on while observing through 10x42 bins. This led us to attempt photos, which are of poor quality and attached. Karla's photos taken with a Nikon D5200 with a 70-300mm lens. Tim's photos taken with a Nikon CoolPix p900. We sent these photos to some other folks for identification help, which is the cause for the delayed report. Hopefully it will stick around the area, my best guess would be to check the areas south of Military Rd NE and Rainier Rd SE, which is the direction it appeared from, and where it returned after our observation.

Technical information

Model

NIKON D5200

Lens

55.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

ISO

200

Focal length

300 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/7.1

Shutter speed

1/800 sec

Dimensions

1051 pixels x 701 pixels

Original file size

281.47 KB