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November 2015

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From:
Josh Wallestad <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Josh Wallestad <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 2 Nov 2015 20:12:57 -0700
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Today, 2 November, as I traveled west on Kandiyohi CR 19, there was a large
raptor perched on a pole.  Initially I thought it was just one of the
ubiquitous Red-tailed Hawks in the area, but as I drove by, the GISS for
Red-tail was off, way off.  I stopped to take a look.  I was struck by the
heavy streaking on the breast.  Coupled with the bird's large size, I
thought I might be dealing with a juvenile Northern Goshawk, so I proceeded
to take lots of photos.  I looked at my photos and compared them to photos
of juvenile Goshawks, and they weren't a match.  Then it dawned on me that
the face looked kind of like a Peregrine Falcon.  I just assumed it was a
juvenile Peregrine (the most probable) and posted it as such in the Facbook
Group, MN Heartland Birding+.  Bob Dunlap questioned me on the bird's size
because he was not getting a Peregrine impression and said the gray cheek
and weak mustache was leading him toward the Gyrfalcon.

I posted all of my uncropped photos on a separate page on my blog, A Boy
Who Cried Heron.  You can access that page and the photos by clicking this
direct link:

http://www.aboywhocriedheron.com/falcon-photos/

Gyr had not even entered my mind as a remote possibility.  If it had, I
would have worked for more photos and better photos.  Regarding the
behavior of the bird, it never flushed during the three or four times I
drove by it and stopped to take pictures.  I came back out about 45 minutes
later, and the bird was not there.  This was about 3 miles east of US 71,
just SE of Willmar.

I'd love for some experts to weigh in on this.

Josh Wallestad

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