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wootles
climber
Ceti Alpha V
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Nov 15, 2007 - 10:24am PT
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Penguin. I'm certain.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 15, 2007 - 10:53am PT
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Of course it will be impossible to resolve this ID from those poor photos, it is difficult to get good bird pictures hanging off belay anchors on the side of a cliff with a point-and-shoot with a near-wide-angle lens... even with the remarkable Ricoh GR-1.
Debbie says that Peregrines appear dark underneath, not light. I have also seen Peregrines in the Valley and these birds were larger than Peregrines. Also, wings are configured for flight, so many different birds will display similar wing configurations depending on flight conditions... pointy tips, etc... are difficult to use for ID (I'm merely reciting what Debbie has been teaching me over the last 24 hours). The birds didn't have a flight behavior that was falcon-like, either, but rather hawk-like...
Much of this description depends on my observations, and I am not a well versed birder.
On the route.... well, Ω I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of said van... there will be β once a few details are cleaned up and Eric gives the OK to release info, I can't do it unilaterally, that would be a violation of the age-old contract among FA team members. But it is glorious to get a route finished, and that one has been 8 or 9 days of work this and last fall... and a whole lot of gazing before... and it might succeed in being a bit less obscure than others (not that that was the goal, mostly it was to see if a route would go, and it did!).
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Quaken
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Nov 15, 2007 - 10:55am PT
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I would bet the boat that is a Keani Gyr and that is a great sighting. It could be a hybrid of any combo that got away from somebody within 100 miles as well.
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ec
climber
ca
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Nov 15, 2007 - 11:55am PT
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Ed,
The bird is a falcon, judging by the wing shape in the photos. Immature peregrines have light feathers on their wings. Debbie is not exactly correct, as the breast coloring of adult peregrines is mostly white, so they would not appear 'dark'. One other clue is if they had some vocalizations that can definitely be identified.
 ec
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TradIsGood
Half fast climber
the Gunks end of the country
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Nov 15, 2007 - 12:45pm PT
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Ed - True on the photos. I even posted a really sharp photo here, and there was a great debate on Cooper's vs. Sharp-Shinned.
I just got lucky and took the picture from about 6 feet away with Nikon digital SLR.
Only knowing its size was enough for me to tell the difference.
About 7 other pictures were flawed for one reason or another.
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Miwok
climber
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Nov 15, 2007 - 12:48pm PT
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The pic looks like the top of Devil's Dancehall but Lost Brother and Taft Point is to close for that.... It might be the big dome above Reeds.....
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BadInfluence
Mountain climber
Dak side
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Nov 15, 2007 - 12:59pm PT
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Peregrine for sure. I've seen some mighty big peregrines before
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Watusi
Social climber
Newport, OR
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Nov 15, 2007 - 02:15pm PT
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Floyd Hayes
Trad climber
Hidden Valley Lake, CA
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Nov 15, 2007 - 02:21pm PT
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The photos are grainy and I would not bet a penny on the identity of either of these birds, and I do think there are two different species.
The bird in the top two photos looks very much like a Buteo with a relatively short, broad tail and broad wings. The black mark across the inner forewing appears to be the "patagial mark" diagnostic for a Red-tailed Hawk. That's my guess.
The bird in the lower two photos appears to be a large adult falcon (immatures have darker underparts). It definitely is not a gull. In both photos the bird appears to have a dirty armpit, otherwise known as "axillaries," and this is diagnostic of the Prairie Falcon. The dark of a Prairie Falcon extends outward on the wing linings, but I'm not seeing this in the better right photo, which suggests that the armpits appear darker due to shading. I think the bird is most likely a Peregrine Falcon.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 15, 2007 - 02:44pm PT
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the pictures are all of the same pair of birds, both were from the same species... that is definite...
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ec
climber
ca
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Nov 15, 2007 - 03:44pm PT
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Ed,
I'll fwd this to Lee Aulman. He'll nail it. Here's Lee in Galen's National Geographic article:
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DavisGunkie
Trad climber
Davis, CA
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Nov 15, 2007 - 04:44pm PT
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I have some red-tails that like to frequent the large tree in front of my house, and they don't look like the same body shape. mine seem to have a broader tail plumage (plus the markings)
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Standing Strong
Trad climber
the only coast
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Nov 15, 2007 - 05:37pm PT
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super cool thread! i need to get out some books. doesn't look like a redtail (i watch them kestreling all the time) but the shadows make it hard.
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Hardman Knott
Gym climber
Muir Woods National Monument, Mill Valley, Ca
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Nov 15, 2007 - 05:49pm PT
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Are you sure that the birds in question are knott one of these?
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Standing Strong
Trad climber
the only coast
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Nov 15, 2007 - 05:54pm PT
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ew, stop it!
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Nov 15, 2007 - 06:21pm PT
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I'm sure it's the rare Tuolumne Penguin. Probably migrating for the winter.
Edit: There's a colony that lives near Tenaya Lake, and they spend the winter frolicking in the snow with #46, making snow angels, and of course wearing stunna shades.
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Nov 15, 2007 - 06:21pm PT
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That bird kicks ASS™™™™™™™™™!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Nov 15, 2007 - 06:25pm PT
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I'm in the peregrine camp based on the bottom photos,
I'd vote hawk with the top ones
or emu
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ec
climber
ca
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Nov 15, 2007 - 06:40pm PT
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O.K. With the little evidence that we have at hand, Lee Aulman replies:
"they look like juvenile peregrines-----more rounded wings(tips) and darker overall color than adults..."
He's the expert...
ec
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LuckyPink
climber
the last bivy
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Nov 15, 2007 - 07:07pm PT
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have y'all ruled out the migrating gyrfalcon? one of the largest.
a pair in november.. hm
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