Big John wrote:

Not trying to put you down but have lots of experience with 1000 mph +
rates of closure in heavy iron. That's over 16 miles a minute and
about 1500 feet per second. At one eye blink per second that's about
7500 feet for 5 seconds. That's almost a mile and a half travel in the
5 seconds. If it takes the brain 2 seconds to process information a
bird can be pretty dam close before one can try to recognize.

While it's not a sure thing, it's by no means impossible, or even
unlikely. As a passenger, I have been able to identify the owners of
aircraft flying in the opposite direction while traversing the North
Atlantic. If I happen to be staring out the window, and the lighting is
right, some paint schemes are quite clear in the five or so seconds you
see them. The rapid movement of the aircraft first attracts your eyes,
and you tend focus on the aircraft just as it passes. Further, 747s
aren't that common on the North Atlantic run these days, and the Air
Force paint scheme is easily recognizable, making identification that
much more likely, if you happen to be looking in the right direction.