Hi Friends,
With the warm springlike weather we’ve been enjoying, I’m seeing some courting and nests are getting spruced up. With the exception of one cutie, the birds featured in these images are a Northern Harrier Hawk couple. They are a welcome sight because they are ground nesters and if they build a nest here or close by, we might see them flying over the mound (which is where these photos were taken) or somewhere nearby, all summer!
With the warm springlike weather we’ve been enjoying, I’m seeing some courting and nests are getting spruced up. With the exception of one cutie, the birds featured in these images are a Northern Harrier Hawk couple. They are a welcome sight because they are ground nesters and if they build a nest here or close by, we might see them flying over the mound (which is where these photos were taken) or somewhere nearby, all summer!
The cutie I mentioned is the Goldfinch. Sometimes they’re hard to see in dense tree & shrub thickets, but their songs make it worth pausing, listening and enjoying.
This is the male Northern Harrier, often called the Grey Ghost! □
When hunting, they fly close to the ground like owls so they can also hear their prey, which are usually rodents.
Notice the white “rump patch”. It's the distinct mark of these hawks
Just made a catch!
Looks like she caught a mouse for lunch!
We are glad the grass is allowed to grow all summer and not mowed, as it was long ago, so ground nesters like the Meadow Lark and Northern Harrier can safely rear their young. Now, thanks to our knowledgeable SLP maintenance crew, the grass is only cut after it grows tall, turns brown and becomes a fire hazard.
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