Went out this afternoon after getting a pigeon from my sister's place. Was heading back from Blaine Lake using back roads to Rosthern then to Hague when I came across this Gyr. It took off from a power pole before I could get setup and swooped down and grabbed a small bird. I was guessing maybe a Horned Lark but I didn't get close enough to see what she was eating. She landed on a fencepost and continued eating while I fumbled around trying to get the pigeon into the trap. She took off again as I laid the trap down so I picked it up and cursed in disgust as she flew away.
I decided to head in the direction she was headed and after almost an hour found her again sitting on a dairy farm silo. I jumped out again to drop the trap but she took off east again toward the river. I was extremely dissapointed thinking she had gotten away so I headed for home. I was following a power line towards the river and saw a large bird sitting at the very top of a dead poplar like a Northern Hawk Owl would. On further investigation with my binos it was indeed the Gyr yet again!
I tossed the trap down and within a few seconds she came in hard and low. Nailed the trap and landed beside it. Walked up and was caught by 6 nooses. The best part of this capture isn't that its the 3rd Gyrfalcon I've caught this year, it's the fact she was wearing a band. I sent in the information to the banding office and wait to hear where she was originally banded.
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