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Posted by Holly on 16:40:50 02/03/07
At Green Cay (Boynton) this morning I found a falcon that is very puzzling. It was very lethargic, in fact appearing to sleep while perched. The size was midway between Kestrel-size and Merlin-size, with a stocky build. The bird was close to the boardwalk, so I feel confident about judging the size as quite a bit bigger than a typical Kestrel. The light was really bad but I studied the bird and got a few bad pictures. The overall color was brown, with a streaked brown and white/buff breast, a black and white hood, and NO color visible anywhere on the body except an odd gold-reddish spot on the back of the crown that glowed in the sunlight. However, when I use the brighten feature to work on the very dark photos, there is some slightly reddish tone that comes out. I would have said Merlin for sure except that the face markings were very dark and bold (2 lines with mustache). I would have said Kestrel for sure except for the size, roundness, and the fact that the bird did not fly or call like a Kestrel. The wing tips almost reach the end of the tail and there was no bobbing or hovering.
Any thoughts? From looking at Sibley, it appears that any falcon that general size with bold face markings has to be a Kestrel, but that didn t feel right. If need be, I can follow up with the extremely bad photos ;)
Oh, and BTW the Eared Grebe is still hanging around!
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