Hi, 

I am passing this on to the list at Rob Abbott's request.  

Rob Hilton
Silver Spring

--- On Sun, 2/7/10, Abbott, Rob wrote:

> From: Abbott, Rob 
> Subject: White Phase Gyrfalcon
> To: 
> Date: Sunday, February 7, 2010, 4:24 PM
> 
> 
> Hi Rob.  
>
> [...]
>  
> My wife and I
> live in Woodbine, MD; 1/4 mile east of Rt. 94 and about 1/2
> mile south I-70 in Howard County, MD.
>  
> At 3:00pm today,
> my wife and I were shoveling out our drive way when I took
> break and looked upward in the sky.  I immediately saw
> an all-white, raptor-like bird about 100 feet up flying from
> north to south toward Montgomery County.  I watched the
> bird for about 1 minute as it flew south and
> disappeared over a grove of mixed deciduous.
>  
> The bird was
> completely, uniformly white except for very noticeable black
> wing tips on the underside of the wings.  The head
> showed a noticeable but not bold darkish eyeline (I could
> see it as it looked downward and around several times
> scanning the wide open farmland below) and the flight
> behavior was a pronounced powerful several wing beats
> and sturdy straight bee-line flight.  
>  
> Completely
> unmistakable for a white phase Gyr.  I was stunned to
> say the least, as not expecting to see this species
> here.  I have seen several before in New England in the
> '70's and I saw the one in Montgomery/Frederick
> County, MD in Feb 0f '94.  
>  
> I wanted to rule
> out any other similar species so, I thought about which ones
> would approach this unique plumage:
>  
> Snowy
> Owl
> Goshawk
> Albino
> Red-Tail
>  
> I have seen many
> Snowy Owls, flying and perched, but their shape, appearance
> and flight behavior is dissimilar being bulky
> and round-headed.  In addition, their
> underwings, to my knowledge, do not show black wing
> tips.  
>  
> I have seen many
> Goshawks, flying and perched, but the adults are
> ashen-grayer overall underneath and showing a bolder
> facial pattern.
>  
> I have
> seen several partial to complete albino Red-Tails
> before along the east coast.  These birds
> typically show the distinct buteo-shape bulging secondaries
> giving it a broad-based winged appearance.  While the
> underside can be whitish, it will typically show blackish
> markings on the wrist and forewing areas complimented by
> irregular blackish coloration along the tips, trailing and
> leading wing edges.
>  
> I realize this is a very unusual sighting of
> this species in this state but I am completely convinced of
> its identification.  
>  
> If you think it wise, perhaps it would be of
> value to share online with others to keep a sharp eye out
> for a reappearance.  If you would like to further
> discuss/share details, please feel free to contact me at
> your convenience.
>  
> Thanks very much, Rob, and hope you enjoyed
> the big snow and now the big dig......
>  
> Cheers,
>  
> 
> Rob Abbott