Right before Thanksgiving weekend I was back out at Roosevelt Wetlands (next to the county waste plant in Pinellas county). I was hoping to see the northern harriers that spend their winters at the reserve. I had heard they were back but didn’t see them the week before.
Dragonflies were still out and about since it hadn’t gotten cold yet.
The usual winter birds were there including tons of blue-gray gnatcatchers and eastern phoebes.
A great blue heron flies by and lands in the marsh in front of me.
A wood stork cruises by.
Some friends and I walked to the other end of the marsh. It was an hour later and we still hadn’t seen any harriers. We got about half way back and Lorraine decided to take the middle trail back to her car. I was standing around watching the little birds when I saw her waving her arms from across the trail.
The male harrier (also called the gray ghost) had just flown by.
After flying down the channel outside of the reserve he circled back and came right over my head. I was glad I hung back to watch the little birds and was glad I saw her waving at me.
Wow, I don’t think I have ever seen a harrier IRL. Magnificent birds. The other birds were nice also.
I am always fascinated by the amount and type of birds in a mirgratory area. The harrier looked large and hawk like–glad you were able to see it!
The last scene is picture-perfect of outstretched wings. Birds on the move are not easy to capture.
Agreed. You do a fabulous job capturing birds in flight.
The little bird pictures are great, but that Harrier picture is fantastic. So glad you saw it.
Your timing was perfect! Lovely photos. The only harrier I’ve ever seen was, unfortunately, unable to fly due to injury. It was well taken care of, but it was sad.