Gyrfalcon in St. Louis County
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'Casual' in Minnesota

Initially identified as a juvenile male gray-morph Gyrfalcon when first found at the Superior Entry 28 September 2007, subsequent observation and images taken in flight raised questions about the possibility of a captive-bred cross between Gyrfalcon and another species. A narrow metal band can be seen on its right leg, similar to the type of bands placed by falconers. The bird has been seen at the Park Point Recreation Area and at various locations in the Duluth-Superior harbor. Dave Evans was able to read the band on 16 December and determined that this individual escaped from a falconer near Toronto, Canada. The bird is now known to be a hybrid between Gyrfalcon and Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug). More information on Saker can be found at http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/saker_falcon.htm and at http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html

Digiscoped image by Peder H. Svingen at the Park Point Recreation Area 5 October 2007. Leica Televid APO 77mm spotting scope and Nikon Coolpix 4500 at ISO 100, f3.6.