[bcbirdclub] Fw: SWAINSON'S HAWK IN BUCHANAN COUNTY
- From: "Roger Mayhorn" <rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "BCBC Listserve" <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 13:37:24 -0400
This is the message I just posted to Virginia Birds.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
----- Original Message -----
From: Roger Mayhorn
To: Birding Virginia
Sent: Monday, October 28, 2013 12:52 PM
Subject: SWAINSON'S HAWK IN BUCHANAN COUNTY
On Saturday, Oct. 26, as the annual Buchanan County Sparrow Day was winding
down at the home of David and Susan Raines in Breaks, VA, a raptor came flying
over a ridge and began to circle over the valley where six of us, Buchanan
County Bird Club birders, were standing. The bird was obviously a buteo. From
the black underneath on the trailing edge of the wings, the chocolate colored
hood and bib, the white throat and the barred tail the surprised group soon
realized that this was a Swainson's Hawk. After circling a couple of times the
bird flew into and perched in a large oak tree about a quarter of a mile away
not far below the top of a ridge. The bird settled in for the night as the
excited birders tried to get distant photos in the low light with the bird
being partially obscured by foliage.
The next morning I went back and David Raines and I waited for the bird to
leave the roost, which it did just as the rising sun was reaching its perch.
When it left the branch I managed to get a few photos of the bird in flight
before it flew in front of the sun. It then flew over the ridge and
disappeared. Several of our photos can be seen at
http://www.pbase.com/mayhorn/2013_swainsons_hawk The photos are not great
quality, but good enough for identification of the bird.
According to the Virginia Gold Book there have been only two verified sightings
in the Mountains and Valleys section of the state, and they were at Snicker's
Gap. None have been reported from this western end of the state.
The six birders who saw and photographed the bird were (in alphabetical order)
Don Carrier, Tom Hunter, Roger Mayhorn, Daryl Owens, David Raines and Mike
Sanders.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
Buchanan County
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