Ken,

I have a recording from Thayer's "Birds of North America". I would describe
it as Sibley does, except that it is more drawn out and ascending in pitch.
Each note is about 2-3 seconds long. More like  "kwwoooAAAHHH
kwooooaaAAAHHH   kwwooooaaaAAAHHHH". It is repeated three times on the
recording, whether significant or not. Your call certainly might fit a Gyr.
Seen from below, they look like a flying football with a stout tail.

Dana Rohleder
Port Kent, NY

"Enjoy every sandwich." - W. Zevon
----- Original Message -----
From: "The Copenhavers" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2003 10:25 PM
Subject: [VTBIRD] Gyrfalcon?


> Sorry for the late post, but on 12/26, while cleaning the most recent
> batch of snow off my car, I heard a low-pitched, guttural GROK call,
> repeated three times.  I looked up expecting to see a Raven, but instead
> saw a largish "hawk," very light colored underneath.  It was flying away
> from me, at a distance of several hundred feet when I first saw it.  Of
> course, I didn't have binoculars.  The Gyrfalcon would seem to be the
> only hawk-like bird with such a deep call.  Sibley describes it as a
> "deep, hoarse kwah, kwah, kwah."  I have been unable to find a recording
> of this call either on tapes/CDs that I own or on the internet.  Lacking
> other visual identification, is this call a good bet for a Gyrfalcon?
>
> Ken Copenhaver
> Fairfax VT
>