Shawangunk grasslands is about an hour an a half north of my home, and is a place I'd planned to visit. In summer it has Bobolink, Meadowlark and some interesting sparrows, and in winter there are good numbers of Rough-legged Hawk and Short-eared Owl. On Friday this week a
Gyr Falcon was spotted there, so my vague plans of getting there 'sometime this winter' coalesced into a decision to go as soon as possible! The bird had shown well after about 3:30pm on the Saturday, but I was eager to be at it, so was on site at about 9:00am, along with loads of other birders! In the end we didn't have to wait until 3:30, as it showed up on Blue Chips Farms just before 1:00pm, giving fantastic close perched views, and an amazing close flyby, before it settled down on a tree about 200m away.
Other birds in the area included at least 3
Rough-legged Hawk, 3
Red-tailed Hawk, 2
Coopers Hawk, 13
Horned Lark, and a selection of commoner species.
Gyr Falcon has been very high on my (long) list of desired birds, and this fellow didn't disappoint. It kept me waiting, 4 hours in subzero temperatures, but the pay-off was well worth it...
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