I have a strong affinity for Northern Harriers ( a little secret that’s difficult to conceal, given the vanity plates on my pickup and the graphic at the top of my blog). And though I love to photograph either sex there’s just something about the adult males that has a special appeal for me. Part of that attraction is probably the relative rarity of the adult male colors since the juveniles of both sexes resemble that of the female.
The males are called the “gray ghost” for good reason.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, canvas added for composition
This isn’t a take-off shot – the adult male was cruising the Antelope Island causeway as it hunted, with the Great Salt Lake in the upper background and mud flats below. The hawk was slightly past me but I think the look back he gave me more than made up for it.
Typically harriers wouldn’t fly this close to a vehicle (I was shooting from my pickup) but the narrowness of the causeway and road, with water on each side, eventually allows a few of these birds to lose some of their wariness of vehicles as they hunt – mostly for voles.
After all, there’s not many voles out there in the water.
Ron
very strong image, excellent photo.
Oh my. How magnificent he is. And what a privilege to be able to see him. Thank you.
Lois expressed the exact word that came to my mind…magnificent!! They are one of my favorite birds as well. I love their aerobatic maneuvers when they spot prey as they skim across the fields.
this really shows strong character of the bird
magnificent!!
I’m glad you enjoyed the image, Lois.
Sensational beautiful shot Ron! Thanks so much for sharing it!
Thank you, Charlotte.
Nice! The yellow eye & cere are spectacular. 🙂
Those eyes and cere have always grabbed my attention, too, Deb. It’s interesting how the brightness of the yellow eyes can vary significantly from bird to bird – some are deep lemon-yellow and even more striking than this. I was even accused once (by a well known raptor authority) on a photography critique forum of artificially and selectively brightening the eyes. I hadn’t…
Whoa! What a look! I’ll bet you did your darnedest not to look like a vole…or at best, a REALLY BIG , TOUGH one! BEautiful action shot!
Thank you, Patty. I don’t worry much about being mistaken for a vole – even they have more hair than I do…
Awesome photo, Ron! All accomplished at peak performance.
Cheers, Paul.
Thanks, Paul.
He’s a beautiful bird – well captured.
Thank you, Sonja.