Northern Harrier?

Gallery: AvianPosted January 5, 2010253 views5 comments

I'm not sure if this is a Northern Harrier or a Coopers Hawk, by the facial disk I want to say its a Harrier but the color throws me off. There are 3 or 4 of these that hunt the fields of the Sachuest NWR in Middletown, RI. I was having a stare down with a yearling whitetail doe when this one came by at a reasonable distance to get a decent shot of it. This is about a 50% crop

Tech details:
Canon 5DMII
100-400 f/4 at 400mm
ISO 400
1/1000 at f/9 +2/3

Any and all comments, critique, feedback welcome, thank you for looking.

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on January 5, 2010 at 10:18 PM

You got the ID spot on. The Northern Harrier has the facial disk, yellow on the top of beak and white breast with brown streaking. Aside from the facial disk, one of the biggest giveaways is the big white spot on their tails (if you see them from above/behind). This is either a female or a juv. The males are almost all grey and are dubbed "grey ghosts". They also are seen infrequently as the proportion of females to males is far from 1:1.

These birds are notoriously tough to photograph well, especially when it comes to detail. Unfortunately the larger crop shows a bit in this image and the sharpness is not there (a SS of 1/1600 or higher is often needed for this species). Also the composition is a bit centered. I'd prefer less room on the right and more on the left. That being said it's nice that you got such a good view of the face and catchlight on the eye which are really hard to do!

- Luke

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on January 6, 2010 at 12:10 AM

Hali

I don't think I can add a thing to what Luke said, he said it very well and thoroughly.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on January 6, 2010 at 8:46 PM

Agree with the ID and with Luke's comments Hali. I think you got the harrier about right in relation to the habitat below and the sky. I'd like to see it less centered though, further to the right. They really are a challenge.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Dubois on January 7, 2010 at 3:03 AM

Nice catch Hali. I agree with the composition suggestions. Optimally a head turn to show the eye better would be desireable too.

Registered on February 22, 2005, 129 Posts, 4739 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on June 2, 2012 at 8:23 AM

Despite its flaws, a nice image of the harrier in action & I ike the grassy bottom Hali.
They're quite a challenge as the others have said, so there will always be room for improvement..
Just gives ya more incentive to try, try again

Have a great weekend!

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments