One of my favorite wintertime raptors in Colorado! While some of these guys hang around during the summer, northern harriers are most often seen in the winter.
That does not necessarily mean they are easy to photograph. In fact, they are quite difficult as they fly very low to the ground, moving erratically as they hunt for prey. This past Sunday, I was fortunate enough to come across this handsome fellow and he was nice and gave me a good flyby.
Female harriers are pretty in their own right and colored entirely differently, being brown. Males, with their white underbellies, gray top coat and piercing yellow eyes are just gorgeous and unusual. Throw in their propensity for being shy and hard to photograph and their nickname of “gray ghost” is quite fitting.
