There was a dark juvenile Gyrfalcon at Madbury, New Hampshire, last December (and possibly there as of 7 January). Photos of that bird show markings very similar to the bird in Kennebunk bird, with the white streaks around the hindneck, on the crown, and the pattern of spots on leggings apparently matching. It seems likely that the bird from mid-December in New Hampshire is the same bird as found by Shiloh at Kennebunk this morning. If nothing else, both birds have a predilection for eating gulls.Here is a link to Steve Mirick's post about the Madbury report of the bird photographed by Rosemary Rayneson either 12/12/14 or 12/14/14:
This species was added to the Maine Bird Records Committee review list at our meeting in early December. The reason is that solid reports of Gyrfalcon for Maine have become very rare, like the bird itself. Most reports lack documentation or show clearly how the bird was identified. Shiloh's photos, of course, blow this ID away, no question. This said, many don't realize how similar some juvenile Peregrines can appear, and birds seen briefly usually lack the details needed to separate the two. There are also hybrid Gyrfalcon x Peregrine (or other species) that are flown by falconers. These can be very tricky to identify and must also be eliminated.
Shiloh's photos are worth studying. They show how the underside of the flight feathers (the remiges—secondaries and primaries) appear essentially plain and only faintly barred. The underwing coverts clearly darker and differently patterned. Peregrine is barred across ventral remiges and there is little contrast between those and the underwing coverts. The contrasting dark tip to the underside of the primaries is also clearly shown by Shiloh's photos and is a good Gyr character. A couple of the flight shots show the broad tail that almost looks like the proportions of a Red-tailed Hawk (juvs of these have been mistaken for Gyrfalcon too!). Also note how the tail and rump are uniformly colored and patterned. This too is a good feature to note on any bird one thinks might be a Gyrfalcon (Peregrine shows a slightly paler rump and slightly darker tail dorsally).
Louis Bevier
Fairfield
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