GYRPALCON AT SLRIDN PARK John te Raa 
     
    
   
   
    
     Sunday, April 4 at 1 O'clock, while driving through Slemon Park to 
     
     Hanger 8 I observed a low flying hawk crossing the road. Fortunately, it 
     
     decided to rest on a snow drift in the middle of the grain field. This 
     
     allowed me to back up to get a better look through the binoculars at a 
     
     distance of about 300 feet. 
     
    

    
     The bird was perched in an upright position, falcon like silhouette, 
     
     uniform grayish in appearance. After 2 minutes it took off flying low over 
     
     the grain stubble at about 3 feet height. It crossed the road about 150 feet 
     
     in front of the car 3 feet above the pavement. It gave me an excellent 
     
     side—on view of the bird. 
     
    

    
     The head was "tucked in" between the bend of the wings. The upper body 
     
     was a gray colour, the underparts were a lighter colour. The wingtips were 
     
     darker, not pitch black, and no sharp straight demarcation. The wingtips were 
     
     pointed. The tail appeared long with no distinguishing marks. The wing beat 
     
     was strong, not rapid, and no gliding was observed. The bird continued its 
     
     flight over the stubble field on the other side of the road, across the runway 
     
     out of sight. 
     
    

    
     I did not recognize the bird. I knew it was not a Kestrel or Peregrine 
     
     Falcon. The colouration, wing beat, and size did not match. This bird was 
     
     larger but not as large as other hawks and it did not have broad wings with 
     
     fingerlike tip feathers of other hawks I have seen. The picture of a kite in 
     
     Peterson's Field Guide came to mind. 
     
    

    
     It was not until I came home and checked the field guide that I realized 
     
     that I had seen a Gyrfalcon, a bird described as "a rare Arctic visitor". 
     
     Prince Edward Island Field Checklist of Birds rates it "0" - occasionally, 
     
     seen only 1 to 9 times per decade. 
     
    
   
   
    
     ENVIRONMENTAL CALENDAR 
     
    
   
   
    
     Nov. 27 — The Island Nature Trust Seeds of Conservation fund-raiser will be 
     
     held between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Farmer’s Market in Charlottetown, 
     
     Eptek in Summerside, Bud & Connie Ings' home in Montague, Main St. Plaza 
     
     in Souris, Red Rooster in Crapaud, and Lorne MacDougald's home in 
     
     Alberton. L 
     
    

    
     Nov. 27 — There will be a riparian zone workshop at the Dutch Inn in North 
     
     River sponsored by the Watershed Improvement/Recreational Fisheries 
     
     Development Program and the Community Watershed Improvement Coalition. 
     
     For more information contact Kate MacQuarrie at 855-2360. 
     
    

    
     Dec. 7 - Natural History Society meeting featuring a slide show on the 
     
     Galapagos by Diane Griffin and Jackie Waddell. The meeting starts at 
     
     7:30 p.m. at the Farm Centre on University Avenue. 
     
    

    
     Dec. 18 - The National Park Christmas Bird Count will be held. Contact Dan 
     
     McAskill at 569-4351 (evenings) if you wish to participate. There will 
     
     be a pot luck at lunch at the Dalvay Shelter. See article on page 12. 
     
    

    
     Dec. 27 - The Hillsborough Christmas Bird Count and participants pot—luck will 
     
     be the days big natural history event. (see page 12) 
     
    

    
     Dec. 28 - The Montague Christmas Bird Count will be held. Contact Gary 
     
     Schneider at 838-2678 and see article on page 12. 
     
    

    
     Jan. 4 - The Annual General Meeting of the NHSPEI Ltd. will commence 7:30 p.m. 
     
     at the Farm Centre on University Avenue This evening is Member’s Night 
     
     and will be a sharing of stories, slides, artifacts, or anything else in 
     
     natural history that might be of interest. Approximately 5 minutes will 
     
     be available for each member’s presentation. 
     
    
   
   
    
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