View allAll Photos Tagged grayghost
Last shot (for now) of the Northern Harrier. It was being mobbed by Red-winged Blackbirds, sometimes being harassed by three or four simultaneously while patrolling its (presumed) breeding territory. Such is the life of a raptor.
I made this shot while hiking a trail in Grasslands - at this point the Grey Ghost had not yet singled me out as a threat and begun its threat maneuvers (dive bombing me, as documented in my two previous posts). I'm pretty happy with it. These aerial encounters happen fast and even shooting in burst mode there is no guarantee of getting both subjects on the same focal plane and in a pleasing configuration.
Two or three more species left in the current set, then on to something else...
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Gray Ghost - Male Northern Harrier, my favorite bird!
The "Gray Ghost" refers to the adult male Northern Harrier, a raptor known for its distinctive pale gray plumage and elusive hunting style.
The adult male Northern Harrier is often nicknamed "Gray Ghost" due to its ghostly appearance and spectral aura.
Males have a bluish-gray upper body and white underparts, with black wingtips.
They are known for their low, buoyant flight style, gliding just above the ground while hunting.
Northern Harriers are found in open habitats like grasslands, marshes, and fields across North America.
Northern Harrier is also known as the Marsh Hawk or ring-tailed hawk
Southern Alberta, Canada.
After many more delays, 2J19 passes Red Wing with KCS 2022, passed the Milwaukee Road built depot, still in use by Amtrak. To add to the scene, KCS 2022 was built as MILW 354, riding on home rails
It's been five years since I've photographed a Northern Harrier, and this is my first male! I love their owl-like faces.
Taken this morning in Ottawa.
This morning, during my drive to work, in Cherry Creek State Park, at the intersection of the main road and Jordan Road (aka Gun Club Road) this male Northern harrier flew in my direction. The light was grey this morning, perfectly suiting his grey feathers.
This is just one of several "keepers" that I got in under three-seconds of shooting You have to be ready to shoot, with all your settings selected, have the camera readily at hand as you prowl for subjects, make sure that the lens is cool to avoid distortion caused by heat/cold interaction as you shoot the camera out of the car, turn the car off to prevent heat wave distorting the image and, oh yeah, getting the camera aimed on the bird and locked on. My Sony cameras are amazing, but it does take some practice to develop the skills.
There's more to the story. They call the male of this species "The Grey Ghost", not because he's a Confederate Army raider, but because he's so rare to see. In this case, I saw him hunting for a few seconds in the territory of a female Northern harrier, when she swooped in and chased him away. I thought that it might be mating interaction, but there was no playfulness and she drove him straight away, over the tree line and turned back to her territory. I hope that we do have some mating. I think that this male covers a huge territory, including all areas of Cherry Creek State Park.
Great details to observe by viewing full-screen.
Northern Harrier, the Gray Ghost for having a nickname like that this particular bird isn’t very ghostly as he surely isn’t camera shy.
This male harrier was shot in the wild.... non zoo, non baited, non raptor show!
On the far right is the 'down arrow'- click on that to open 'original' size... click 'open' on original size and then hit F11 on keyboard for full screen effect...
Second year male Northern Harrier, aka Gray Ghost, flying over the farm fields - New York
Photograph captured with a Canon EOS 1DXII camera paired with a Canon 600mm f/4 IS II lens and 1.4x extender, at 840mm.
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Northrop/MDD YF-23A Gray Ghost (1002) at KTOA. One ponders the ability of this contender that may have been first but came second??
.............All Rights Reserved. M. WIlson Photography............
The girls sharing their watermelkon in the back yard on Kia's Birthday.
This is such a Summer shot! I just love it On Black
I'm posting this shot for a certain carpenter down North Carolina way, it's a simple cabin built with Trembling Aspen. I put this place at around 100 years old........and no I didn't go in.....not yet anyways :^)
Northern Harrier
The Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) also known as the Hen Harrier is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA, and in northern Eurasia. This species is polytypic, with two subspecies. Marsh Hawk is a historical name for the American form.
It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Europe and southern temperate Asia, and American breeders to the southernmost USA, Mexico, and Central America. In the mildest regions, such as France, Great Britain, and the southern US, Northern Harrier may be present all year, but the higher ground is largely deserted in winter.
Harriers have an owl-like face. The concave facial disk and relatively large off-set ears enable the bird to use triangulation of sound to help locate prey such as mice, voles, juvenile rabbits, frogs, pheasant chick, and other birds in dense vegetation. The female Harrier is larger than the male; hence, the female takes larger prey than the male.
For more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hen_harrier