Here's Jimmy's post to TN-bird
"9/19/15
Soddy Mountain Hawk Watch
Hamilton Co., Tn.
Several CTOS
members enjoyed a field trip to Soddy Mountain.
We started at 9:00 and ended
at 5:15 eastern. Hawks were a
bit slow in the morning but picked up around
2:00.
Participants included Hugh Barber; Pete Robinson; Pete
&
Marge Krampe; Bill Holt; Clay Seneker David Spicer and Cynthia
&
Jimmy Wilkerson.
visitors were Ronald Wingo from Walton co., GA with his
son
Josh Wingo who just happens to be a star football player at
Grundy co.
High School, Tn.
We saw:
1 Osprey
46 Broad-winged Hawks
2
Sharp-shinned Hawks
1 Cooper's Hawk
1 Peregrine Falcon
(juv.)
along with 34 species of other birds which would include an,
as far
as I know, first for the hawk watch, COMMON RAVEN. As
unlikely as this may
seem to other skeptics, such as myself,
there were enough field marks to
reasonably confirm a spot on
identification. The bird first seen at 3:20 by
Bill Holt was
in our view for about 4 minutes. Other people to view this
bird
were David Spicer and Cynthia & Jimmy Wilkerson. Seen from about
a third mile away, the bird flew from center stage to our west.
We all
observed a very black bird larger than a crow. Bill
remarked about the way
the bird was soaring along with his big
head and thick neck. David Spicer
commented about its prominent
wedged tail. While I wanted to call it another
Black Vulture, to
many things just didn't add up for a Black Vulture. I
couldn't help
but notice its wings which looked narrow like an Osprey, there
were
also very long fingers, longer than a crows at its wing tips.
Cynthia
said she could see its pointed beak out in front of its
large head. This is
our observation, comments will be welcomed.
Soddy Mtn is just under 1400
feet elevation and the bird was up
at least 12 to 1500 feet above us. As an
after thought, from our
location we can look east across the Tennessee River
and see Big Frog
Mountain where the bird could have leisurely soared over
from.
Jimmy Wilkerson
Hixson, Hamilton Co., TN"
http://soddymountainhawkwatch.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/Soddy-Mountain-Hawk-Watch-1608121316117914/timeline
Once Bill Holt had spotted the Peregrine Falcon, as a tiny dot, quite a ways out, we were sort of stumped by the fact that a bird of it's size, should be kiting. We knew Red-tailed Hawks and American Kestrels would kite, but the bird was too small for the first and too large for the second. As we watched intently, while it approached, we recognized the extremely sharp wings of a Peregrine Falcon. So how could we explain what seemed to be kiting. For reader's who may not know, kiting is when the bird floats in a stationary position in the sky, hanging like a kite.
We watched as the falcon fought the winds on high, which pushed against it, holding it in place sometimes, hindering it's forward motion, completely. It looked as if kiting, when it was not at all. Staying with the bird, was rewarding, as with no other migrating Peregrine I have ever seen. And to make the situation a little more challenging, it was an immature bird, dark underneath, very dark. Once it was close, the darkness of the bird actually made those "side-burns" stand out more than ever. It made a long, hot day worth the stay.
Then top that off with a RAVEN! Bill's call was something he knew, was familiar with. Almost as soon as he realized the bird, near a Vulture at first, was not a crow..too large, and not another vulture, a little further out, making it seem smaller....but was black as any of the 3, maybe more so...He said, "that bird looks like a Raven. Intrigued, I looked first to the head. When I spot them over near the Ocoee, or up on Clingmans Dome, I always look at the great big head first. Pointed, and large in comparison to the wing size, I usually know them by that feature. Then the body/wing shape and size, had me convinced. Jimmy always has to know it has a wedge tail, which David Spicer was able to see. As it winged away, it seemed natural there. It was hard to think of it as an unusual bird. It took a while for it to set in the fact that it was our first on the watch.
We even forgot about Broad-wings for a few...LOL
Hope some of you are able to join us tomorrow, Sunday. So you can support us while we-
KEEP LOOKING UP!!!
PS Bill Haley has sent us some wonderful information that I want to share with you soon. Can't wait for you to know his story this week.
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