Male Northern Harrier

I really liked these shots I took Monday at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, but I was waiting for help on identifying the bird. I knew immediately it was a Northern Harrier, and I thought it was a male, but I wasn’t sure because it wasn’t as gray as a male is supposed to be.

Ruth Sullivan told me it was an immature male Northern Harrier, a stage where they turn from brown to gray. Of course, none of the books I have seemed to make that distinction, though my National Geographic guide did show a difference between juveniles and adults.

Immature Male Northern Harrier

It was the the brilliant white here, though, that convinced me it couldn’t be a female harrier.

Immature Male Northern Harrier

4 thoughts on “Male Northern Harrier”

  1. I think he was probably about 100 yards, or slightly less, away from me.

    But much closer than you usually get to one of them, that’s for sure.

  2. Loren, the second photo gives me such a feeling of flight, it’s as if the ground drops out from under me as i observe the photo, breathtaking. kjm

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