Hello to all. I am a new member as of today.
Many of you may have heard the news that a Red-Footed Falcon has been spotted on Martha's Vineyard Island off the East Coast of Massachusetts, USA. I believe this falcon's normal range is from Eastern Europe (especially Russia) to Africa. This is the first time that one has been seen on the North American continent. It was just a twist of fate that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for birders happened to occur literally in my own backyard. I thought you might like to share my first-hand experience viewing this rarity.
I live on Martha's Vineyard and just started birding last winter. As a new birder, please forgive my simplistic description of my experience. Yesterday morning (Saturday, August 14th) was a beautiful sunny morning so I drove out to Katama which is about 8 miles from my home to see if I could get a glimpse of the new celebrity visitor. There must have been 200 birders there lining the fence along the grass runway which is very near the beach and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. They had come on a pilgrimage from all parts of the country.
When I arrived at 9:00 am the falcon was way up in the air out towards the ocean being followed and "harassed" by a flock of tree swallows that must have thought it was intruding on their territory or in fear of attack by it. The grassy airfield is usually full of tree swallows and barn swallows swooping over the large meadow-like expanse.
Within about 10 minutes, the red-footed falcon came back to the airfield and sat on its favorite yellow runway sign about 50 yards from the road where we were standing. Small planes would taxi down the grass runway almost right next to the bird who just ignored it and sat there preening itself. The views of it through binoculars and scopes were fantastic. It would occasionally swoop and hover around that sign and then landed on a nearby perch of straight upstanding sticks. At one point it appeared to be munching on a grasshopper it had caught.
At about 9:35 am it took off again and did the most exciting air show for us. A birder from Ohio remarked: "Did someone pay it to do that performance for us?" It swooped, it dived, it glided with outstretched tail feathers and twice flew directly overhead, making us strain backwards to get the most exceptional views ever. Every time the falcon performed a stunning feat of aeronautics, an audible gasp would erupt from this crowd of birders. This is the first time I have ever been amongst such a large gathering of professional birders and the experience was invigorating.
At about 10:00 am, after resting on a different airport sign for a while, it took off and heading towards the ocean again. It could be seen clearly through binoculars way up in the air and was again being pestered by a group of swallows, but obviously having the time of its life. There is another large open field nearer the ocean where it supposedly does most of its hunting, but so far has always returned to the little airfield to roost and rest. I feel sorry for it being here all alone with no companion falcon and wonder if it will stay. It is a young male and obviously seems very happy here for the moment with everything it could desire - good hunting ground and strong sea breezes and updrafts on which to soar.
David Sibley was here this past Wednesday and, according to the new section on his website, spent 6 hours studying the falcon for identification. Hopefully it will appear in his next edition of Birds of the Eastern United States as an accidental. You can view the illustrations he made of it based on his visit at: http://sibleyguides.com/redfootedfalcon.htm
I am sorry that my first posting is such a long one, but thought my experience would be interesting to all of you. I guess there is nothing like the enthusiasm of a new birder at his first major siting. If any of you are considering a trip to Martha's Vineyard to view the Red-Footed Falcon, I will be happy to give you any advice travelwise or otherwise. However, attempting to come to Martha's Vineyard in the peak tourist season is a bit of a chore. Hopefully our intriguing little visitor will stick around for a while. Thank you for listening.
Many of you may have heard the news that a Red-Footed Falcon has been spotted on Martha's Vineyard Island off the East Coast of Massachusetts, USA. I believe this falcon's normal range is from Eastern Europe (especially Russia) to Africa. This is the first time that one has been seen on the North American continent. It was just a twist of fate that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for birders happened to occur literally in my own backyard. I thought you might like to share my first-hand experience viewing this rarity.
I live on Martha's Vineyard and just started birding last winter. As a new birder, please forgive my simplistic description of my experience. Yesterday morning (Saturday, August 14th) was a beautiful sunny morning so I drove out to Katama which is about 8 miles from my home to see if I could get a glimpse of the new celebrity visitor. There must have been 200 birders there lining the fence along the grass runway which is very near the beach and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. They had come on a pilgrimage from all parts of the country.
When I arrived at 9:00 am the falcon was way up in the air out towards the ocean being followed and "harassed" by a flock of tree swallows that must have thought it was intruding on their territory or in fear of attack by it. The grassy airfield is usually full of tree swallows and barn swallows swooping over the large meadow-like expanse.
Within about 10 minutes, the red-footed falcon came back to the airfield and sat on its favorite yellow runway sign about 50 yards from the road where we were standing. Small planes would taxi down the grass runway almost right next to the bird who just ignored it and sat there preening itself. The views of it through binoculars and scopes were fantastic. It would occasionally swoop and hover around that sign and then landed on a nearby perch of straight upstanding sticks. At one point it appeared to be munching on a grasshopper it had caught.
At about 9:35 am it took off again and did the most exciting air show for us. A birder from Ohio remarked: "Did someone pay it to do that performance for us?" It swooped, it dived, it glided with outstretched tail feathers and twice flew directly overhead, making us strain backwards to get the most exceptional views ever. Every time the falcon performed a stunning feat of aeronautics, an audible gasp would erupt from this crowd of birders. This is the first time I have ever been amongst such a large gathering of professional birders and the experience was invigorating.
At about 10:00 am, after resting on a different airport sign for a while, it took off and heading towards the ocean again. It could be seen clearly through binoculars way up in the air and was again being pestered by a group of swallows, but obviously having the time of its life. There is another large open field nearer the ocean where it supposedly does most of its hunting, but so far has always returned to the little airfield to roost and rest. I feel sorry for it being here all alone with no companion falcon and wonder if it will stay. It is a young male and obviously seems very happy here for the moment with everything it could desire - good hunting ground and strong sea breezes and updrafts on which to soar.
David Sibley was here this past Wednesday and, according to the new section on his website, spent 6 hours studying the falcon for identification. Hopefully it will appear in his next edition of Birds of the Eastern United States as an accidental. You can view the illustrations he made of it based on his visit at: http://sibleyguides.com/redfootedfalcon.htm
I am sorry that my first posting is such a long one, but thought my experience would be interesting to all of you. I guess there is nothing like the enthusiasm of a new birder at his first major siting. If any of you are considering a trip to Martha's Vineyard to view the Red-Footed Falcon, I will be happy to give you any advice travelwise or otherwise. However, attempting to come to Martha's Vineyard in the peak tourist season is a bit of a chore. Hopefully our intriguing little visitor will stick around for a while. Thank you for listening.
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