A Female Northern Harrier on Antelope Island

 

I almost missed this female Northern Harrier, but luckily I spotted her right in time.  She was resting in the tall dry grass and seemed to be in no hurry to leave this place.

It's interesting, females are significantly larger than males and they usually take a role of the more dominant and larger hunter.

Northern Harriers are migratory birds, and females generally head south slightly earlier than males during migration.

At the end of our meeting the female took off and flew towards me for a few seconds and this was quiet unusual behavior.

The Northern Harrier is known for its distinctive "hawk-like" flight, flying low to the ground in search of prey. 

Generally, life is good.

Adult Male Northern Harrier

Three long years have passed since my first encounter with male Northern Harrier on Antelope Island.  This morning heading to the island I met my second male Northern Harrier. 

The predator ended up not far from the road and perched on a metal pole with a wire. The sight of such poles always makes me nervous because birds accidentally get tangled in the wire and get injured.

Due to their distinctive plumage color, male Northern Harriers are sometimes called "Grey Ghosts" among birders.

Generally, life is good.

Adult Male Northern Harrier on Antelope Island

When it comes to identify Northern Harrier it's not difficult to distinguish an adult male from a female.  Adult males are mostly gray above and white below, they have lemon-yellow eyes.  Adult females are brownish. 

A few days ago I spotted on Antelope Island a male Northern Harrier which was not so easy to photograph because he didn't stay at one spot even for a few seconds.  At some point, Harrier decided to settled down and I was able to take these photographs.  

A Harrier has a facial disk around the face but it's not as prominent as it is in owls.  The disc directs sound to the ears of Harrier.

Life goes on.