Northern Harrier
Circus cyaneus
We used to call the Northern Harrier the “Marsh Hawk”, an appropriate moniker I believe. We usually find them performing lazy passes, and sailing over grassy fields and wetlands. When they sense an opportunity, they will drop to the ground and overpower any prey they can. More often, their prey is small rodents or birds, but they will take down larger prey, such as coots (often by drowning) if the harrier can pull it off.
Between Summer and Winter these raptors will range over most of the North American continent’s wetlands and grass fields. Some Northern Harriers will migrate in spring as far north as Canada and Alaska, and retreat south in winter, ranging from the USA and south through Mexico, Central America and barely into Colombia. At North America’s mid-latitudes, they may remain year-round.
Males may take up to five mates in a season, a practice known as polygyny, which is rare among raptors. Color can usually differentiate males and females. The girls are more brown, while the boys are more silvery and even whitish. Science views Northern Harriers as monotypic (i.e. no subspecies).
These hawks have owl-like faces. Their ear holes are larger than most hawks, and their disc-like faces have stiff feathers that funnel sounds into their ears, which allows them to find unseen prey. At Heron Flats in Aransas NWR Texas, I observed these birds foraging over the deep grass marshes and pouncing from the air into the thick grass and brush. I can only assume it was an example of hunting by ear. It would be very unlikely that a sense of sight gave away any prey’s position.
I’ve had plenty of meetings with Northern Harriers near my southern California home, but I’ve also enjoyed their company further north in California, in Oregon, in Utah, in Arizona, in New Mexico, and in Texas.
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: Chula Vista Bayfront Park, Chula Vista, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2013:01:22 13:18 |
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Location:
Boal |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 |
File Name: D3X0620-NorthernHarrier-Female |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: Foraging over the marsh at Chula Vista Bayfront Park, Chula Vista, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2013:01:22 13:18 |
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Location:
Bayfront Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 |
File Name: D3X0622-NorthernHarrier-Female |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: A raptor on patrol at Merced NWR, south of Merced, California. |
Date Taken: 2011:12:27 13:28 |
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Location:
Merced NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/2500 |
File Name: D3X4901-NorthernHarrier |
| © 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: Resident in the area, this bird was seen at the "Bird and Butterfly Garden" in the Tijuana River Valley. Near San Ysidro, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2015:01:27 10:38 |
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Location:
Bird and Butterfly Garden |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: D3X5704-NorthernHarrier |
| © 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: This hawk was being harrased by a Red-Winged Blackbird near the Headquarters of Malheur NWR south of Burns in eastern Oregon. |
Date Taken: 2015:06:03 11:21 |
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Location:
Visitor Center |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: D3X7308-NorthernHarrier-Harrassed |
| © 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: Male at the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2013:05:18 8:29 |
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Location:
Tijuana River Regional Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/6400 |
File Name: D3X7606-NorthernHarrier-Male |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: Once called Marsh Hawk, I saw this bird at Vendel Road. Salton Sea Vicinity. Imperial County, California. |
Date Taken: 2008:12:01 11:36 |
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Location:
Salton Sea |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: JCD3366NorthernHarrier |
| © 2008 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: Once called Marsh Hawk, I saw this bird at the Tijuana River above the river mouth. Imperial Beach, California. |
Date Taken: 2010:01:08 10:09 |
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Location:
Tijuana River Valley |
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Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/4000 |
File Name: JCD5221.NorthernHarrier |
| © 2010 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: Once called Marsh Hawk, I saw this bird at Bosque del Apache NWR. Near Socorro, New Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2003:08:25 16:48 |
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Location:
Bosque del Apache NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D1X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/750 |
File Name: JCD_0836NorthernHarrier |
| © 2003 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: Once called Marsh Hawk, I saw this bird at Bosque del Apache NWR. Near Socorro, New Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2003:08:25 16:52 |
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Location:
Bosque del Apache NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D1X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 |
File Name: JCD_0837NorthernHarrier |
| © 2003 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: Once called Marsh Hawk, I saw this bird at Bosque del Apache NWR. Near Socorro, New Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2003:08:25 16:55 |
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Location:
Bosque del Apache NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D1X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/750 |
File Name: JCD_0839NorthernHarrier |
| © 2003 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: Bosque Del Apache, south of Socorro New Mexico. |
Date Taken: 2016:03:18 17:01 |
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Location:
Bosque Del Apache |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2500 |
File Name: D3X6741-NorthernHarrier |
| © 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: (Circus cyaneus) Seen at the Merced National Wildlife Reserve on 2019-01-26, twelve miles southwest of the town of Merced, Merced County California (USA). |
Date Taken: 2019:01:26 12:56 |
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Location:
Merced NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/5000 |
File Name: NorthernHarrier_D507097-Merced-NWR |
| (C)2019 Jack Daynes; shadeTree Imaging |
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: Vendel Road is also known as Unit #1 of the Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge. It occupies the agricultural and marsh lands at the southern tip of the Salton Sea near Westmorland in Imperial County. |
Date Taken: 2019:10:28 14:06 |
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Location:
Vendel Road |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/8000 |
File Name: NorthernHarrier_D5X6423-VendelRoad-SaltonSea |
| © 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus) |
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Description: Female bird. Promontory Road is the route to the historic Golden Spike monument where the builders of the west bound and east bound sections of the first transcontinental railroads met and joined. |
Date Taken: 2017:08:16 7:53 |
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Location:
Promontory Road |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/10.0, 1/3200 |
File Name: NorthernHarrier_D5X3686-PromontoryRoad |
| © 2017 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus hudsonius) |
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Description: At Aransas NWR I fell in love with Heron Flats, where I met birds such as this Northern Harrier performing lazy soaring moves and pouncing on any prey it could find. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:15 14:42 |
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Location:
Aransas NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/7.1, 1/1000 |
File Name: NorthernHarrier_D500657-Aransas-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus hudsonius) |
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Description: This Marsh Hawk was making such a racket with its vocalizations, it caught my attention. It was a lovely day at the Gilbert Water Ranch. The weather was mild, and the winds were calm. Gilbert is in the Greater Phoenix area of Arizona. |
Date Taken: 2020:11:11 16:09 |
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Location:
Gilbert Water Ranch |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: NorthernHarrier_D5X0205-GilbertWaterRanch |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus hudsonius) |
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Description: This Marsh Hawk was making such a racket with its vocalizations, it caught my attention. It was a lovely day at the Gilbert Water Ranch. The weather was mild, and the winds were calm. Gilbert is in the Greater Phoenix area of Arizona. |
Date Taken: 2020:11:11 16:09 |
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Location:
Gilbert Water Ranch |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: NorthernHarrier_D5X0196-GilbertWaterRanch |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus hudsonius) |
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Description: Northern Harriers sailed by the fields where cranes and geese loafed, seeking foraging opportunities of their own. It was a relatively slow day for birds at Bosque del Apache, but even a slow day there beats most places I’ve birded. |
Date Taken: 2020:11:30 14:23 |
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Location:
Bosque del Apache NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/8000 |
File Name: NorthernHarrier_D5X3953-BosqueDelApache |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus hudsonius) |
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Description: Northern Harriers sailed by the fields where cranes and geese loafed, seeking foraging opportunities of their own. It was a relatively slow day for birds at Bosque del Apache, but even a slow day there beats most places I’ve birded. |
Date Taken: 2020:11:30 14:23 |
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Location:
Bosque del Apache NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/8000 |
File Name: NorthernHarrier_D5X3964-BosqueDelApache |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus hudsonius) |
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Description: A Caspian Tern took exception to this young harrier near the Convention Center and wasn’t shy about expressing his displeasure. Last spring I learned how productive South Padre Island can be for birding. This was my first visit in winter, and it did not disappoint. |
Date Taken: 2021:01:19 13:21 |
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Location:
Convention Center |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/11.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: NorthernHarrier_D5X3340-SouthPadreIsland |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus hudsonius) |
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Description: This Marsh Hawk was making such a racket with its vocalizations, it caught my attention. It was a lovely day at the Gilbert Water Ranch. The weather was mild, and the winds were calm. Gilbert is in the Greater Phoenix area of Arizona. |
Date Taken: 2020:11:11 16:08 |
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Location:
Gilbert Water Ranch |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: NorthernHarrier_D5X0117-GilbertWaterRanch |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus hudsonius) |
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Description: The fields of standing corn stalks seemed to interest this male harrier. Precisely halfway between Albuquerque and Bosque del Apache is the state reserve at Ladd S. Gordon’s Bernardo Unit, where cranes and geese are now visiting more than at Bosque. |
Date Taken: 2020:12:18 14:26 |
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Location:
Bernardo |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: NorthernHarrier_D5X8409-Bernardo_Unit |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Northern Harrier(Circus hudsonius) |
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Description: A Caspian Tern took exception to this young harrier near the Convention Center and wasn’t shy about expressing his displeasure. Last spring I learned how productive South Padre Island can be for birding. This was my first visit in winter, and it did not disappoint. |
Date Taken: 2021:01:19 13:21 |
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Location:
Convention Center |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/11.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: NorthernHarrier_D5X3319-SouthPadreIsland |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
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