Finally. Geez. It has been a long time since I have been able to get decent pics of a male northern harrier as recent encounters have provided stark reminders of why they are called the “gray ghost.”

While driving some backroads northeast of Denver yesterday, one was hunting the drainage along side the road, a common sight and a good way to find them. Recent attempts to get in front of them to get a picture always had them veering off before I could get a decent shot.

This handsome fellow took mercy on me and gave me a nice little flyby. These guys are just crazy cool with that gray plumage and brilliant yellow eyes.

You will notice their owl-like face. They say that the shape of the face allows sounds to be focused to their ears allowing these #hawks to hear their prey even before they see them.

A northern harrier circles a field, hunting for prey. Taken this past weekend in what was one of my top photo sessions ever with one of these awesome hawks.

I spotted this pretty lady sitting on top of a hay bale at Barr Lake State Park, Colorado. True to form, she took off as I approached but landed only 30 yards or so away.

That, of course, was an open invitation to see what else I could do with her. I would spend a half hour with her, photographing her as she alternated between flying over the fields hunting and taking breaks and posing.

I shot over 300 images of her, getting some of the best flight shots and static poses of a northern #harrier that I have ever captured. When all was said and done, I was grinning ear-to-ear and extraordinarily pleased with the images from the encounter.

Taken with my #Canon EOSR5 and my new Canon RF 100-500 lens which I am quickly falling in love with.

A fun, surprise encounter with this beautiful lady. I had some time to kill recently so decided to walk around an open space area I had never been to before. It was a good thing I had my camera with me because soon I spotted this hawk, gliding over the terrain, clearly looking for a meal.

Most of the time, she had her head down, scanning the ground but for a bit she picked her head up giving me this nice capture. In fact, I ended up with a very nice series of her, one of the best I have ever gotten of a harrier.

You’ll find Harriers across much of North America, Europe and Asia depending on the season. Here we call them Northern Harriers but in other spots on the globe they are known as Hen Harriers, Harrier Hawks or Marsh Hawks.

You see these fast-moving hawks often on the plains of Colorado but getting a picture? Good luck! Their speed coupled with their low-altitude flights and erratic patterns make it tough.

Sometimes though you can get lucky, as was the case with this pretty lady.

She was patrolling the side of a road as they often do (ditches are a great place for mice) so I positioned myself in front of her hoping she would continue on her path and thankfully she did.

You’ll find Northern Harriers across much of North America, Europe and Asia depending on the season. As they fly, they use their keen eyesight and hearing to spot and listen for their prey.

A fast but fun encounter with this cool, female yesterday. She was patrolling the rural roads of eastern Colorado and flew right by me.

These hawks are quite common here, particularly during the winter. They are, however, not easy to get pics of as they fly fast and low in very erratic patterns.

That owl-like face of theirs serves a purpose in that it focuses sound to their ears as they fly. This allows them to hear their prey in the brush below, sometimes before they even see it.

Young Gray Ghost performs a flyby. Driving along the rural roads of Adams County, Colorado, I spotted this gorgeous raptor hunting right along the road. I quickly staged myself in front of the young male Northern Harrier and in return it gave me a couple of nice flybys.

You’ll find these hawks across much of North America, Europe and Asia depending on the season. Typically they fly very fast and low to the ground using their keen eyesight and hearing to spot and listen for their prey.

Another set of pics that I had not shared previously. Taken back in January north of Denver, I came across this pretty lady as she patrolled a field looking for a meal.

I was fortunate in that she actually came quite close to me but conversely I was shooting straight toward the sun. It did however provide some cool backlighting of her plumage.

I haven’t seen too many of these yet this season but their numbers will increase as temperatures cool and I will hopefully get many more opportunities to photograph them.