This bird was on the cam somewhere around 11:30 a.m. today (that's a very approximate time). A cam op said they thought it was a prairie falcon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3OjGySPLo0
Amy has weighed in on this on RRP's Facebook page and says it is NOT a prairie falcon -- she says it's a juvie peregrine.
Is this full-cropped falcon seen on our Mississippi Flyway cam a Prairie Falcon? No. It is a juvenile Peregrine Falcon, although I understand why people suggested prairie falcon. Key ID points (taken from the book ?Hawks at Every Angle? and a conversation with RRP master bander Dave Kester) include:
- Location and behavior. Oddballs happen, but a lost prairie falcon would probably not be perched on a low snag in the Mississippi River Driftless valley. Prairie falcons are western birds that inhabit dry open country, including grassland and desert. But there are a lot of peregrines along the river and we have seen them perched here before.
- Body streaking. This bird's body is heavily streaked ? more like a peregrine than a prairie. Prairie falcon juveniles are buffy with sparse streaking.
- The supercilium. This bird's 'eyebrow' or supercilium is thicker and extends further back than is typical in a Prairie falcon, and its malar stripe/?mustache? is more peregrine than prairie.
I assume it was ID?ed as a possible prairie falcon because of its pale head and eyebrow/supercilium. But color, field marks, and location/behavior point to a juvenile PEFA. Its pale head makes me wonder if this is a tundrius peregrine falcon. Falco peregrinus tundrius nest in the Arctic, migrate to central and South America, and often have light/blonde heads. If it is a tundrius, it could already have flown 1800 miles from its hatch place! #FalconFriday
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Topic: Flyway Cam NFWR La Crosse (Read 178734 times)