The Gray Ghost: Northern Harrier

Sunlight touches the fog rising over the Wet Prairie:



I grew up calling it a Marsh Hawk, and the same species is known as Hen Harrier in Europe and Asia. This slender large diurnal raptor has long, narrow wings, a long tail, and a conspicuous white rump patch. It has an owl-like facial disc, and  is commonly seen flying low over open land. 

Like a Turkey Vulture, it glides with wings tilted upward in a dihedral, an adaptation for slow and low flight. For both species, this configuration allows the wings to stall alternatively as they lose lift, causing the bird to wobble or "teeter" rather than suddenly plunge down to the ground. 

Adult female:



A harrier photobombed my session with a Bobcat family:



Another appeared unexpectedly at the edge of an Illiniois cornfield, as I watched a Coyote walk away:





Note the yellow eyes and bulging crop of this adult female:





Few of my photos are in good focus, as the bird's movements are difficult to track and predict:







In my collection of Northern Harrier images, nearly all are of the larger brown females or, more commonly, immature birds with cinnamon-colored underparts. The younger birds have dark eyes, while those of adults become bright yellow. This immature has spotted (or heard) prey in the high grass:







I got a poor image of this female Northern Harrier, through our daughter's kitchen window in Illinois. Her cinnamon undersides, which may be an artifact due to the warm morning  light, suggest she is immature but her eyes are quite bright yellow as in an adult:





She flew up to display her distinctive white rump:



This is a young Male Northern Harrier. It looks quite brown:



As they age, males mature into a  beautiful plumage of white, gray and black. I had only very poor and distant photos of male harriers until, in January 2018, this one flew overhead in the local wetlands and afforded me one shot as it sped away:



I was thrilled as this adult male, perhaps the same one, approached my position in the Wet Prairie on March 23, 2018. It veered erratically and I thought the "Gray Ghost" would turn away:









Males are a bit less common than females, but seem greatly outnumbered during the winter because of the similarity between adult females and the abundant immature birds of both sexes. Far north, on their breeding gounds, the males may collect a "harem" of several females.

Perched on road sign at Brigantine preserve in New Jersey:




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