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Re: Raptor(?) ID help

From:

Mike Burchett

Reply-To:

Mike Burchett

Date:

Mon, 12 Sep 2005 23:17:04 -0400

You might have seen a Common Nighthawk.  They have a very falconlike flight and the white patches at the end of the wings is dead on for this.  Also the time of day you saw yours is when they are out flying around.  I just photographed one about 15 minutes ago.  I'm going to school at WVU in Morgantown and i flushed one from underneath a car and it sat on the pavement for about 15 minutes while I ran and got my camera.  West Virginia state bird for me too!  Let me know if this is what ya might have seen.  A pic I just got is at the link below:

http://home.comcast.net/~mbird023/Common_Nighthawk.jpg

Mike Burchett
Morgantown, WV
Churchville, MD
  Original Message:


  Hey all, I had a probable raptor this evening (~6:30 pm) at 
  the Cherry Hill Rd end of the Paint Branch Stream Valley 
  Park in College Park, PG County.  It had all the hallmarks 
  of a falcon: narrow, pointed wings; long, narrow tail; rapid 
  wingbeat with some swift-like flicks of the wings (in fact, 
  to my eye the wings looked almost sickle-shaped like a 
  swift's, but this was definitely a big bird); sharp changes 
  of direction during otherwise level flight.  The bird was 
  dark from below with a conspicuous light streak parallel to 
  the body near the end of each wing (molt?).  I definitely 
  saw both light and dark in the face, but never had a good 
  steady look to see if I could make out a characteristic 
  Peregrine mustache.

  My guess is this was a Peregrine Falcon, which would be a 
  nice bird for the area (I had one earlier in the year 
  perched at the swamp next to the golf course).  Any other 
  possibilities?

  Thanks,

  D

  -- 
  Derek C. Richardson, Ph.D. (CANTAB) ________
  Astronomy, U Maryland, College Park MD 20742
  Tel: Office 301-405-8786 Fax 301-314-9067 __
  Home page: http://www.astro.umd.edu/~dcr/ __