Northern Harrier on patrol over the plains

I happened across this pretty lady as she flew fast and low over some fields, undoubtedly looking for a meal. She did dive to the ground at one point but came up empty handed.

These pics show why it is so hard to get a quality picture of these raptors. They typically fly very low to the ground and cameras have a hard time focusing on them as the gear struggles to pick them out from the ground. Every now and then though I can get things right and capture some decent shots.

You’ll find these hawks 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.