Juvenile Northern Harrier female in flightJuvenile Northern Harrier female in flight – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

Yesterday at Farmington Bay I was pleased to photograph this juvenile Northern Harrier female in flight as she went past me while I sat in a mobile blind. This hawk of the marshes was hatched this year and the reason I know she is a female is because she has dark eyes, typically juvenile males at this time of the year would have lighter colored eyes than she does.

Juvenile female Northern Harrier flying byJuvenile female Northern Harrier flying by – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

All juvenile Northern Harriers at this time of the year have orange to rusty undersides and both of these photos show that well. Their backs are brownish and like the adults they have white rumps.

I photographed other Northern Harriers yesterday morning but this one came in the closest, gave me nice views and I was able to obtain the best images of her.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to view more of my Northern Harrier photos plus facts and information about this species.