White-morph Gyrfalcon; Agassiz

[tmanson]

Hi all: I moved the discussion of the WHITE MORPH GYRFALCON, to this part of the forum, as I think it is a rare enough bird to warrant inclusion here.
After I received Murray's call about the bird, I hustled out to Agassiz, and luckily, when I got there the hard rain had stopped, ( for a little while, anyway ).
With my point, and shoot digital, I took a number of pictures, but from the distance we were looking, it seems I was lucky enough to get one half-decent one. I enclose a second shot, just to show a side-on view.
I think the conclusion was that it was a juvenile White-morph. The yellow cere, that is shown in the guides for adults, was absent in this bird.





Murray commented on the dark blue leg band, which we saw clearly through the scope. Maybe, someone will be able to enlighten us on the status of this bird.
Murray saw this bird this morning, and, then, together, we saw the bird in the same area this afternoon.
Probably the easiest way to access the fields is, once you have crossed the Fraser River bridge on the way to Agassiz, and Harrison, look for Whelpton Rd. on your right; ( East ). Take this road to the paved end, and you willl see a Brussel Sprout field, directly ahead. This is where we saw the bird this afternoon. If it is not there, you can continue N.E. on Bridge Rd, to Martin/McDonald, and then turn right; ( south ), on Appel Rd, and head down towards the river. This is where Murray saw the bird this morning. Cheers, Thor

Thor Manson
Hope, B.C.

[Gord]

Incredible. Hope my day works out that I can get out to see it. Even if an escaped bird, which the bands might suggest, it is still quite a sight. I checked online to see if there were any projects describing banding of Gyrfalcons. I ran across a couple but they were older projects. Since it's a juvenile, it would have been banded this summer. Interesting!

Good shots of it Thor and good description of the location.

[tmanson]

Hi all: Just for fun, I sent an e-mail to Tim Gallagher, noted falconer, author, Ivory-Billed Woodpecker chaser, and researcher at the Cornell Lab. I included the link to this site.
Cheers, Thor

Thor Manson
Hope, B.C.

[Gord]

Thor, let us know what you find out.

Yesterday at noon I located it in a hydro tower overlooking the yucky sprout field. I did not see it until I looked from Appel Road but then was able to see it from the field side again when I knew where to look. Stunning looking bird even from that distance!

Appel Rd had a big mixed flock of sparrows including about 20 Savannah Sparrows.

[tmanson]

Hi all: A follow-up to the reports from last week on the Gyrfalcon, near Agassiz.
As previously mentioned, I initiated correspondence with Tim Gallagher, of the Cornell Univ. Ornithological Lab. in New York. Tim is a falconer, magazine editor, photgrapher, author, and researcher. He has extensive knowledge, and experience with falcons.
In his opinion, the bird was a White-morph/Saker hybrid. He thought it looked a little small for a pure White-morph Gyr. I had to look up what a Saker is, and discovered it is a European/Asian falcon, and is a favourite of Middle Eastern Falconers.
He thought the thin white ring on the bird's right leg, was something falconers attach to a newly born bird after it is only a few days old.
As far as I know, the bird was seen by Murray, and I last Friday, and relocated by Gord, in the same area, the next day. No reports since then. Cheers, Thor

Thor Manson
Hope, B.C.

[Gord]

Thanks for the follow up, Thor. Interesting thoughts from Tim. I dont know if I would have noticed anything myself unless it was pointed out.

I was in the area on Sunday but no luck. I did not look very hard or long though.

[john]

Hi all,
I just heard from Thor Manson. I am a falconer from Agassiz, and the falcon pictured above was bred by me this spring, and was one of 3 white gyrfalcon males that I was flying. I lost it approximately 3 weeks ago. I have all the records for this bird, birthdate, band number etc. in my paperwork For any more sightings, please contact me at 604-796-9573.
John and Ginny Lejeune

[tmanson]

Hi all: More on the continuing saga of trying to locate the source of the White-morph Gyrfalcon that was seen by a few of us 2 weeks ago.
I had an e-mail from Derrick Marven on Vancouver Island, who knew of a breeder in the Fraser Valley. He gave me his name, and I looked it up in the phone book, and called him this morning. He lives in Agassiz, and he breeds White-morph Gyrfalcons, and Peregrines. He wants me to publish his name, and phone number because that was his bird. The bird is descended from a pair of falcons from Northern Quebec.
His name is John Lejeune, and he can be reached at 604-796-9573. In his experience, if a bird escapes, it will try and establish a territory, and stay there for several weeks.
Obviously, he would like to have his bird back, and, so if anyone sees it, he would appreciate a call.
It also gives us all a heads-up on any Peregrine, and especially White-morph Gyrfalcons, we may see in the Valley. Check those legs for bands.

Cheers, Thor

Thor Manson
Hope, B.C.

[Janne]

Sorry I didn't see this post when it first appeared as I could have saved Thor a lot of trouble tracking down John Lejeune. The falcon breeding facility has been in Agassiz since at least the early 80's and I once toured a 1st Nations Kindergarten class through it. Last December 1st (Dec. 2007) at Watson School in Sardis a White-morph Gyrfalcon appeared on the school sign after a funeral, which was held in the school gym, for a dear friend of mine . The bird appeared to be in poor shape. This sighting is listed in the Fraser Valley Birding rare bird archives alert as Dec. 9th/07. Unfortunately I had no camera with me. I think it came to help my friend to the other side. I didn't think to call John Lejeune as the falcon did not appear to have a leg band.
Janne Perrin
Harrison Hot Springs

[Gord]

John, will let you know.

Nice to have a contact within the falconers. Ive often wondered to to talk to if I saw what I suspected was an escaped bird.

[tmanson]

Janne: No problem; it was kind of fun to do a bit of detective work.
I remember your report from last fall. As a matter of fact, Murray Brown, and I, went to have a look for the bird, including asking permission to scout out the playground area during the school's lunch hour. Unfortunately, we did not see the bird.
Like you said, perhaps, if it was in poor shape, it did not last too long.
From what I have learned, seeing a wild, White-moprph, Gyrfalcon in our neck of the woods, would be an extremely rare event, which, is, of course, what got us so excited in the first place.
It was still neat seeing John Lejeune's bird, too. Cheers, Thor

Thor Manson
Hope, B.C.

[john]

Yes Janne, Ava, who you saw in December was one of my best flying falcons. She is a beautiful white female gyrfalcon, and was lost for about 6 weeks. On January 1st, a friend of mine photographed her two miles east ot Abbotsford and a mile north of the border, while she was being pursued by a bald eagle. I went the next day, and was able to call her down. She was in fine shape and had gained a few ounces. Her seamless band, (that all of my birds carry,) was still intact. The antenna of the transmitter was broken off.
Thanks everyone for helping me out.
All the best,
John Lejeune
Agassiz, BC

[Janne]

Thanks John for telling us about Ava. So glad she survived and had gained a few ounces despite the cold, inclement weather last December. If I see a gyrfalcon again I will let you know. I have observed them in the wild up in the Arctic off the Dalton Highway but I also saw one in Agassiz in the field bound by Bridge and Caignou Roads east of the Agassiz-Rosedale Bridge in the 80's. I can't remember exactly what year of season but it was perched on top of the lone tree that used to stand in that agricultural field. Good luck in getting the present escaped falcon back.
Janne Perrin
Harrison Hot Springs