[obol] Tygh Valley Gyrfalcon

[grassj at comcast.net]

Monday 1/1/07 at 11:00 am, I managed to relocate and get excellent views of the Gyrfalcon initially reported about a week ago at this location. Tygh Valley is about 35 miles south of the Dalles on US 197.

I found it sitting on a power pole very near where it was reported before, on Oregon Hwy 216  .7 mile east of the US 197 junction, on the road to Sherar's bridge. While I was watching it with binocs from the car so as not to spook it, a truck passed by and it flushed, flew SE in a big circle over the fields, and then landed on another pole up the hill  farther from the road and slightly west from  where I saw it at first. I was able to get out of the car and study it at length that time, and it was still sitting up there when we left. 

This one is medium gray, and the face pattern is pretty visible in decent light with binocs. There were a couple Redtails and a Rough-legged on other poles in the area, but the falcon stood out like a sore thumb.

Good birding!