The Unicorn Bird

Every birder has at the top of their “birds to see” list a bird that has one or more significant attribute. It may be beauty, speed, rarity, behavior, elusiveness or an association with some human trait. An example of this is the Snowy Owl in the movie “The Big Year”. These birds are almost never found in the birder’s immediate area thus giving adding to it’s “unicorn” status.

So what bird can claim enough of these attributes to qualify? While the Brant seen in Waukegan was a relatively beautiful bird and definitely rare in the area it didn’t have enough to qualify it for the Unicorn title. Even the Snowy Owl is an exciting bird but seen often enough in the area that it doesn’t quiet make the cut. But the year is young and you can always hope.

So we all keep going out, taking photos birds we see and posting them on eBird, however mundane they may be. One of our local birds, the Peregrine Falcon is a nesting species, taking advantage of a nesting box located on a building at the Waukegan power plant. They are spotted weekly at the beach and in surrounding areas. Sometime around February 22nd local birder Gustavo took some nice photos of a Peregrine perched on a wire at the beach. Two days later Adam, local bird expert and hawkwatch organizer, identified the photo of the bird as a Gyrfalcon!! It was gray rather than the striking white plumage, which is present in a small percentage of birds, and by the large amount of streaking probably a sub-adult. So Gustavo was the only observer to see and record it. On a day when I was delayed in going to the beach!

Here is a bird that fit the bill! The largest falcon species on earth. The bird has no real natural predators. The “Gyr” is short for gyro, or spiral. This probably relates to the climbing spiral flight pattern of a raptor gaining altitude. Gyrfalcons will stoop, swoop, hunt cooperatively, or fly fast and close to the ground.  In so doing, the Gyrfalcon will suddenly come upon prey, flush it out, and pursue.  In this pursuit, the Gyrfalcon reaches speeds significantly faster than the Peregrine in level flight.  Estimates of exact speed range greatly, though a conservative average is 90 miles per hour in level flight and 150 miles per hour in stoop.  A study of captive birds on a lure course found peregrine falcons flew up to 30 miles per hour and gyrfalcons reached 40 miles per hour in level flight.  These were captive birds in a situation with a known reward, meaning hungry, wild individuals would likely move faster.

Gyrfalcons have always been highly prized by falconers because of their size and speed.
When falconry was at its height in Europe, royalty could determine the type of falcon people could use. The gyrfalcon was usually reserved for a king. It was used to hunt grouse and ducks and larger game, including herons and geese. Today this falcon still retains its high status in the world of falconry. Because of their large size, striking appearance and dramatic hunting styles, Gyrfalcons, particularly the lighter colored specimens, are highly prized by falconers. Some Gyrfalcons are bred in captivity and fetch prices from $5,000 to many times that much for top pedigrees. This makes it, in eBird jargon, a “sensitive species”. Quote: “Certain falcon species (Falconidae) are rare and highly valued in falconry. These species are treated as Sensitive to protect them from the falconry trade.” Meaning the reports must not include specific location details or dates.

Back to Gustavo’s Gyrfalcon. A week after this initial sighting a birder refound it! He shared the information with another birder that was more connected so to speak. Connected in the digital sense. In spite of the sensitive status of the species birders do not hesitate to share information on messaging groups that are shared with other birders. The harbor would be visited by every birder in the area and beyond in the next week.

I got the news when I was on an errand out in Libertyville. I raced back to the Waukegan Beach expecting to see other birders. Only a few cars. Hmmmmm. But I walked out anyway, keeping my eyes on the sky. I ran into another person who wasn’t a birder. After a brief conversation I looked up and saw an adult Bald Eagle. Another awesome but regular species. But chasing it, attacking it, was a large falcon. Lighter in color than a Peregrine, larger and fiercer in it’s attack. It the Gyr!! My camera never made it up for that exchange. I couldn’t take the time to fiddle with my gear and miss the show.

For the next week the Gyrfalcon made the Waukegan Harbor it’s hunting ground. It spent its down time perched high on the cement towers or on power poles or in trees, resting and digesting. It was hunting mostly Mergansers, which are abundant at the moment. We don’t have the grouse and ptarmigan it would normally hunt.

While we were standing by the Yacht Club area a worker came over from the nearby cement tower. He talked to Dad and told him how in the past a falcon had entered the tower and couldn’t escape. It was flying around and around looking for a way out. They finally captured it in a net and released it outside. The worker thought it was the same species. Given the rarity of the Gyrfalcon it’s hard to say.