By Charlie Fineran

Hi Everyone:

INTRODUCTION:
Northern Harrier “Marsh Hawk” (Circus cyaneus)  Long-wings, long-tailed hawk with a white rump, and a roundish or disklike face.  These hawks usually are seen gliding unsteadily over fields and marshes with its wings in a shallow V.  All hunt by flying close to the ground and taking small animals surprise. They seldom pursue their prey in the air or watch quietly from a perch as do other birds of prey. Harriers have a keener hearing than other hawks; their disk-shaped faces, not unlike those of owls, enable them to amplify sound. These are not the clearest photos, BUT, they do show the low level flying tactics of the hunt along with the distinctive white rump.  Videos on my Flickr site give a much clearer and more detailed view of the Northern Harrier and its distinct hunting tactics.

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO OF THE WEEK:
It is Sunday November 19, 2023 about 1:30PM.  I am driving down Youngs Island Road heading out to search for some photos for my Photo of the Week Article.  I am testing my camera’s zoom and focus, I have switched camera’s don’t know what is going on with my other camera, not working. OK, so I am zooming in on some buildings at the end of the field, when I notice this object moving around in the field, it didn’t take me long to realize, this is a Northern Harrier working the field – AND he is heading my way. Take a quick photo and flip on my movie clip dial to watch him hunt!!  He cuts across Youngs Island Road and then I take a couple more photos and lose him in the sun.  WELL, if I don’t come across anything I can use this for my article,  AND this is one of my favorite birds. He apparently is a resident here as I see him almost every day in my back and forth travels up and down this road.

OBSERVATION:
I have to say, the Northern Harrier is one of my favorite birds to photograph!!  A little perspective, FIRST, there actually is a hunting pattern that you can watch and photograph over a period of time. The other Hawks, their hunting pattern, is sit on a perch and look for something, then if I or you are lucky, it takes off and glides down to the target. The other strategy for hawks/falcons is they are already in flight and are picking out flying targets, or birds flittering around in trees or shrubs.  KINDA hard to see that coming and be ready to photograph that scenario!!  Just thinking aloud here, “Kinda makes me think, the harrier, actually earns its meal by going out and about LOOKING & LISTENING all the while using energy flying!?”

FACTS:

• Description – 16 to 24 inches long with a wing span of 3 feet 6 inches. Northern Harriers are slender, medium-sized raptors with long, fairly broad wings, long rounded tails and a white rump. They have the longest wings and tails relative to its body size of any raptor in North America. They have a flat, owl-like face and a small, sharply hooked while the adult male is a palish gray.
• Voice – they are usually silent.  At the nest it can utter a ‘kee-kee-kee-kee’ or sharp whistle.
• Habitat – marshes and grasslands
• Nesting – 4 to 5 pale blue or white eggs on a mound of dead reeds and grass in a marsh or shrubby meadow.
• Range – Breeds from Alaska east to Canadian Maritimes and south to southern California, Arizona, Kansas and Virginia.  Winters from South America north to British Columbia, Great Lakes and New Brunswick.  Also in Eurasia.

NOTE:  This is the only North American member of a group of hawks known as harriers. All harriers hunt by flying close to the ground and taking small animals by surprise.  Harriers have much better hearing than other hawks, their disk-shaped faces, like those of owls, enable them to amplify sound. 

In the wild adult harriers rarely exceed 8 years of age. Early mortality mainly results from predation.  Predators of eggs and nestlings include, raccoons, skunks, badgers, foxes, crows, ravens, dogs and owls. Fledglings are also predated regularly especially by Great Horned Owls. Both parents will attack potential predators with alarm calls and striking with talons.  Short-eared owls are natural competitors of this species that favor the same prey and habitat, as well as having a similarly broad distribution.  Occasionally, both harriers and short-eared owls will harass each other until the victim drops its prey and it can be stolen, a practice known as kleptoparasitism. Most commonly, the harriers are the aggressors pirating prey from owls.

Please visit my Flickr site for additional photos and videos –

Note:  I moved Harrier album it is first album **First 5 photos are this articles photos.

New Jersey Audubon – Northern Harrier photos – Bing [1]

Enjoy Your Open Space

Charlie Fineran
Director Open Space
Allamuchy Township Environmental Commission – Chairman
Allamuchy Historical Society – President

Allamuchy Township Environmental Commission – Chairman

Allamuchy Historical Society – President