The Travels of Tug 44 |
|
Northern Harrier |
 |
|
Northern Harrier females are mostly brown ... sometimes with brown bars on the chest. Harriers are extremely shy and all these photos are long-distance shots. high-res
|
 |
|
... and some of the females have a mostly brown chest. They all have that circle around their faces, much as Owls do ... it helps with hearing, and they can hunt by sound. high-res
|
 |
|
The male Northern Harrier is mostly gray with a white bottom ... sometimes they are called "The Grey Ghost". During breeding season, one male will often service as many as 5 females. The males are rare and even more shy than the females. high-res
|
 |
|
This female Harrier is skimming only 3-4 feet over a hay field, listening and watching for mice and other tasty little critters. high-res
|
 |
|
In this picture, the female Northern Harrier on the left had caught a mouse and had just finished it, when the female on the right landed next to her ... high-res
|
 |
|
... and suddenly both birds explode into the air with the first female attacking the other. These birds do not tolerate any competition at all. The mid-air battle continued as they both faded into the distance. high-res
|
 |
|
This Northern Harrier female lands in a hay field to collect grasses for nesting materials. high-res
|
 |
|
And off she goes, carrying that ball of grasses to her new nest. These birds nest on the ground, in the middle of hay fields. high-res
|
 |
|
She lands at the nest and sits there for awhile, as photographers arrive. She worked on this nest for 3-4 days but eventually the crowd spooked her and she abandoned her work and re-started elsewhere. It's ok, early February is a bit early for nest-building. high-res
|
 |
|
Spotted this female Harrier sitting on a fence post and got this and the next 2 photos. It was the morning after a snow fall, and she's surveying the hay field for mice ... high-res
|
 |
|
... when suddenly she starts doing her stretching exercises. All Northern Harriers, as well as most other birds, do this. high-res
|
 |
|
And then her wings came up and she flew. Beautiful! high-res
|
 |
|
This male Northern Harrier was sitting in a hay field about 200 yards out ... high-res
|
 |
|
... and a few minutes later, he lifted his wings and flew! The males are blue-gray on top and the undersides are mostly white. high-res
|
 |
|
And a week later, I got another male Northern Harrier in flight. high-res |
Lighthouses - Canal Corp Boats - Tugboats & Trawlers