Thousands of people are going on line to look at a rare white gyrfalcon who has been gazing steadily into a camera in Churchill, in the province of Manitoba. The camera was set up to capture the northern lights, which sometimes radiate across the night sky. It does that, and in the daytime it provides close ups of the falcon.
White falcon caught on camera (courtesy: explore.org)
‘A daunting predator’
The gyrfalcon is the world’s largest falcon and a daunting predator. It preys on large birds, often chasing and attacking them in flight. It normally roams the barren arctic tundra, mountains and coastlines year round.
“They’re not that common to begin with but they hang out here in the wintertime,” said Heidi den Haan of the Churchill Northern Studies Centre to the CBC. “It’s almost like a photo bomb,” she said, laughing.
Falcon believed to have come first
Den Haan thinks the falcon was likely there before the camera was installed. There are not many trees in the area and it may like the vantage point provided at the top of the tower.
The camera was installed through explore.org, a multimedia organization that documents nature around the world. It posted the video on Facebook.
Bird videos prompt goofiness
This is by no means the first camera to have captured a bird. Video of a snowy owl posted online recently was hugely popular.
Snowy owl captured by a traffic camera in Montreal. (YouTube)
It prompted the creation of a funny send-up involving a puppet and the same background.
The curious Albie Tross caught on another traffic camera in Montreal. (YouTube)
(with files from CBC)
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