The missing links

June 9-2019
What is a missing link? Who is missing link? Where is a missing link? You could be - and are a missing link. I could be and am a missing link. This post is a reflection of this web site. It revolves around just one sighting, but there are many missing links to this story. I am sure you can find many other missing stories or links. I am sure you have contemplated other stories.

The story- a hawk (I don’t know any of the details) was observed at the Samish flats, Skagit County, Wa. The hawk was a Eurasian Kestrel. So the hawk was observed and identified in 1999.

However, from my investigations, this hawk was not observed (and identified) in any other area of the large state of Washington. Ditto for the state of Oregon. Ditto for British Columbia. So it appears that the hawk made some type of a disappearing act, then an appearing act! So you could (might) say that this is a very rare sighting, or that there are some factors that just don’t add up. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. You are thinking about me. You are thinking that I am contemplating that that Eurasian Kestrel was misidentified or possibly this was a hoax- full sighting. But, recall, the hawk was observed (and) identified. The crux of the situation is that the hawk was identified and probably photographed. Understand- I at this time have not investigated the details of this sighting. But, I will look into it more deeply. As to what I am thinking is in no way acting as an impediment toward this sighting. So, the catch phrase of this post is observation accompanied by identification, which ties in to my profound statement, my number one rule. I will never say you have misidentified a bird. And this ties directly into my profound statement- You have observed Goshawks— your friends have observed Goshawks — your neighbors have observed Goshawks!

So to wrap it up, that Eurasian Kestrel did not just appear at the Samish flats and dropped down from ten thousand feet altitude. And then it did not just disappear again! That hawk was observed by many individuals— by somebody; somebody’s friend; somebody’s neighbor.

As an afterthought: I recall a story told to me by Cristofer Aquila (biologist) in charge of the Chimney Rock Hawk Watch in Somerset, NJ, in about 1993. The story revolved around a Eurasian Kestrel.