Note: Keep your eyes open when at the Samish/Skagit area -- this bird hasn't been reported in a few weeks as of 12/13/99. Let us know if you see her.
Special update! 12/26 The bird was seen on Christmas Day along Bayview-Edison Road, about a mile south of the "T." A special request to not press this bird -- leave it plenty of room and please don't chase it for a better view.
I ran up to the Samish area on November 3 to have a twitch* at the Eurasian Kestrel. This is a rare falcon, similar to, but larger than, our American Kestrel. This vagrant probably got its bearings mixed up and wandered here from Asia. As of this writing, the bird is still active and very easy to see in the Samish flats, on Chuckanut Road about one to one and a half miles north of the post office in Bow, WA, west off exit 236 of I5 in Skagit County.
What a neat bird! I watched it for some time as it hunted -- on one occasion it brought up a rodent big enough that it struggled to fly with it. Its general appearance and behavior is like an American Kestrel -- it uses phone and power lines and poles as perches while hunting, then launches off to a field and hovers on fluttering wings over prey before stooping for the kill. Its "jizz"* however seems to me more "regal" in posture, and its flying has much more authority -- more of a sense of power.
The really exciting possibility -- there is hope the bird has established a winter territory at the Samish, and will return in successive winters. The Samish is probably the only place in North America where birders regularly have five-falcon days. Now, in the winter, you could have a SIX-falcon day there. (American Kestrel, Eurasian Kestrel, Merlin, Prairie Falcon, Peregrine Falcon, Gyrfalcon --- and while accomplishing that you could stumble across three owl species, including Snowy, four hawk species, several Bald Eagles, and scare up 50,000 assorted shorebirds and 20,000 assorted ducks, geese, and swans that haven't been eaten by the aforementioned raptors.)
It's amazing that a vagrant falcon just happens to find the best piece of winter falcon habitat in North America. Or is it that the Samish is so heavily birded that this one vagrant out of 1,000 that wander to N.A. is the only one noticed because it's there? Patagonia Picnic Table effect? *
It turns out that the bird was banded the morning I was there. Per Bud Anderson, who banded it:
"The plumage was in immaculate condition with no wear on the tips of the flight feathers. It looked just like any other wild falcon that I have banded over the last 30 years. There was no wear on the tarsi to indicate it had been wearing jesses (falconers leg straps) either. In our opinion, it is a normal bird. . . . it returned to normal hunting within 30 seconds of release."
It is a juvenile, probably female. Somewhat light weight, suggesting a long trip, but not emaciated. (It certainly was a successful hunter as I observed it, with two catches in that time)
The Samish Eurasian Kestrel -- photo supplied by Bud Anderson
* "Twitch": a British term for traveling some distance to see a particular unusual or rare bird. Some would define it as "mindless pursuit."
* "Jizz": tradition has it that this term is derived from "GIS," used as an acronym by WW-II pilots and airplane spotters to describe "General Impression and Shape," a means of identifying an aircraft by its silhouette, "posture," and flight characteristics. "Jizz" is used by birders to describe the process of identifying species by their general characteristics as opposed to definitive field marks.
* "Patagonia Picnic Table Effect": attribution of the propensity of rare or unusual birds to gather at a particular site, when the real reason for the rare sightings is the propensity of birders to gather there.
Several years ago, some birders happened to be eating lunch at a picnic area outside Patagonia Arizona. While doing so, they spotted a rare Elegant Trogon. The word got out, and birders from all over began stopping there to look for the Trogon. As it turns out, those birders discovered many other rare or unusual birds, and the Patagonia Picnic Table became famous world-wide as a location to see "good birds." Most birders visiting S.E. Arizona now stop there -- if only as a matter of tradition -- and great birds continue to be discovered there.
The issue: is there some intrinsic characteristic of the Patagonia Picnic Table that attracts good birds? No, of course not, other than its being in relatively good habitat. Good birds are discovered by birders, and many birders are attracted to the Patagonia Picnic Table because of its reputation -- thus, a lot of good birds are seen there, and its reputation is self-fulfilling.
The Samish is just a little bit different -- it happens to be stupendous winter raptor habitat. Thus a lot of raptors go there, and a lot of birders go there to see them. A vagrant wandering into the Samish is almost certain to be observed -- and observed, and observed . . . .