[mou] How to find Gyrfalcons

[Alt, Mark]

I went out with Jack Voog and Vic Peppe as they flew their Gyrfalcons =
Sunday.  I got a lesson in Gyrfalcon behavior. Jack saw a Grey Gyrfalcon =
in Brooklyn Park Thanksgiving weekend.  He was working out his bird with =
a lure when this other bird came in, made a pass at his bird, and =
perched in a nearby tree. He has a license to trap passage juveniles as =
a Master Falconer. This is a tightly regulated permit process. He did =
not trap this bird, though it was seen one other time. The area it was =
seen in was west of Hwy 169 =BD mile south of the Hwy 610/169 =
intersection.  Jack told me he has seen Gyrs in this area before, as =
well as other metro areas.  He said the biggest draw for Gyrs is =
swirling flocks of birds, either pigeons at grain elevators or ducks at =
open water. Jack has seen a Gyr in past years at the small pond on =
Douglas drive south of Duluth Street in Golden Valley, right by the RR =
tracks.  The RR yard in Fridley has attracted Prairie Falcons and Gyrs =
in the past. =20
He is going to work with other falconers to get sightings confirmed and =
documented in the future. Falconers in the past have had sightings =
rejected with no explanation other than "record not accepted" and they =
assumed they were not taken seriously. They do not bother to submit =
sightings anymore. I told them it needs to be properly documented and =
witnessed, and I offered my assistance. They see many Snowy Owls and =
rare raptors every winter as they are out hunting their birds in remote =
fields in January and February when everyone else stays on the beaten =
paths or indoors. =20
If I get a contact from them, I will post it to the rare bird alert and =
to Mnbird and MOU-net and ask that someone try to get out to the site to =
confirm the sightings. They do considerable work locating raptor nests =
also and do not complete nesting records when they find them; I am going =
to work with them as well. These people share many interests with us and =
their knowledge of birds exceeds ours in some areas.  We need to get to =
know them and let them get to know us.  We stand to both benefit from =
this relationship.


Mark Alt=20
President,=20
Minnesota Ornithologists Union
J. F. Bell Museum of Natural History
University of Minnesota
10 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0104
MOU.mn.org
mark.alt@bestbuy.com
Cell:  612-803-9085