OntBirders . . . Late this afternoon I enjoyed a juvenile, white-morph Gyrfalcon in the concession block adjacent to the south side of Hillman Marsh.
I first saw it from Concession B, when it flew over a massive flock of waterfowl. The ducks went berserk (escaping in every direction), but the geese held their ground and just stood there. (In this same field there was also a Cackling Goose.) I then went to the south side of Hillman Marsh where I found the bird sitting on some corn stubble. Here it was amongst some feeding geese, with some birds approaching the Gyrfalcon to within 20 feet (!) and apparently unconcerned. After about 15 minutes the Gyr flew to a nearby puddle with dozens of ducks -- pandemonium once more -- where it gave chase to a male Redhead at lightning speed. Both disappeared over the dike into Hillman Marsh itself, and I was pretty sure the Redhead was toast (toasted Redhead?) But the best part was when I drove over to the SE Hillman Marsh parking lot, where the bird was sitting on the ice right beside the road, on top of the (now dead) Redhead. This was adjacent to the last cottage along the beach, the Savino cottage -- Fork-tailed Flycatcher fame -- and indeed they were looking out their window at the bird! Alan Wormington, Leamington
