Juvenile Gyrfalcon
photographed about 4 miles south of Fort Pierre
February 28, 2010
My sixth Gyrfalcon of this winter season (or is it the same one photographed on
January 17?)
It was late afternoon, the sun had finally burned through the fog and clouds, when I saw a Snowy Owl flying over the grassland and land. As I was coming up with a plan for stalking the Snowy Owl, this juvenile Gyrfalcon flew in and landed on the fence about 1/4 mile down a snow blocked road. I started walking toward it, took a few shots as it perched on the fence, then it flew east. It was a long way out but the light was good and the flight shots turned out OK. I never saw the Snowy Owl again, but this gyr made up for that!
