View allAll Photos Tagged grayghost
we woke up yesterday to about 5cm of fresh white stuff........Jackie wasn't impressed, neither were we......
I know this shot is a little dark but I intended it that way, it was quite a task to get the exposure right with all the bright light coming through the trees across the river, thought that the darkness added a bit of mood!
LARGE ~or~ View On Black
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Original File: Nikon
Gray ghost surprise!!
It's always good to wash your fruit in the morning. You may ask...."But why?".....The answer...because it means you're facing your big sliding glass doors and might spot something wonderful out in the open space behind your house. That's exactly what happened. I saw a hawk come swooping in and land right behind my fence. I assumed it was our resident red-tailed hawk.....but when I went over to look...it was flying away from me and I could see it had a white patch on top of it's tail which could only mean a Northern Harrier. However, what I didn't expect was that it was a MALE harrier or as many call it a Grey ghost!!! We have never seen a male harrier hunting behind our house. I made some inaudible sounds with my excitement.....grabbed my camera and bolted out of the back door. I really didn't expect it to hang around very long, and it didn't. It flew out of sight, but then back in sight, and then repeated this numerous times. Finally he started making some circles and made a few passes right in front of me. He also managed to fly with some very nice fall colors behind him in the distance. I will have a few more to share, but here are some of my favorites.
Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 180-600mm F5.6-6.3 lens at 600mm, 1/1600sec, F8, various ISO's from 360 to 720, handheld and cropped. (Please view images large for best details) Nov 16 2024 Northern Colorado
Northern Harrier of Mercer
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
KCS’s East St. Louis Yard is a small yard from the GWWR days within it is 2 tracks occupied by two rows of engines, the KCS engines are all in deadline while the Tier 4 ACe’s are in Storage
What can I say? ... I have this definite attraction to gray-headed males. :-O Not just my husband either ;-), but I'm referring to the male northern harrier ... aka "the gray ghost".
Ask any of my friends that I shoot with ... I STOP for harriers (even when sometimes they're not as impressed). There's just something so cool about harriers ... maybe it's the way they glide effortlessly with such fluidity as they hunt ... maybe it's those "owl-like" features their faces possess ... maybe it's those amazing eyes. Either way, it's real.
So you can immagine how excited I was to find this one as it just finished up his mouse dinner and was perched on a post cleaning off his beak. He didn't even seem to mind my company. I think he knew how I felt. :-)
Colorado never has a shortage of raptors in the winter, that's for sure. Luckily for me, these harriers are year-round residents. I mean ... is he handsome or what?
Thanks so much for stopping by to view. Hey ... I made it 3 for 3 days in a row! I'm quite happy with myself. Happy Tuesday for sure.
© 2019 Debbie Tubridy Photography @ TNWA Photography
Mr Mxyzptlk, Livewire, Underbroker, The Penguin, Batman, Gray Ghost, Scarecrow, The Ventriloquist and Vengeance (Bane's daughter)
This male Northern harrier seems to be giving me "the eye" as the sun is rising. This is at Cherry Creek State Park, Colorado, near the East entrance. I waited 20-minutes for the sun to rise and he cooperated, than goodness.
Gray ghost surprise!!
It's always good to wash your fruit in the morning. You may ask...."But why?".....The answer...because it means you're facing your big sliding glass doors and might spot something wonderful out in the open space behind your house. That's exactly what happened. I saw a hawk come swooping in and land right behind my fence. I assumed it was our resident red-tailed hawk.....but when I went over to look...it was flying away from me and I could see it had a white patch on top of it's tail which could only mean a Northern Harrier. However, what I didn't expect was that it was a MALE harrier or as many call it a Grey ghost!!! We have never seen a male harrier hunting behind our house. I made some inaudible sounds with my excitement.....grabbed my camera and bolted out of the back door. I really didn't expect it to hang around very long, and it didn't. It flew out of sight, but then back in sight, and then repeated this numerous times. Finally he started making some circles and made a few passes right in front of me. He also managed to fly with some very nice fall colors behind him in the distance. I will have a few more to share, but here are some of my favorites.
Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 180-600mm F5.6-6.3 lens at 600mm, 1/1600sec, F8, various ISO's from 360 to 720, handheld and cropped. (Please view images large for best details) Nov 16 2024 Northern Colorado
I rarely see male Northern Harriers on the Sumas Prairie, so this is likely the same bird I saw last month.
An adult male Northern Harrier shoots me a look while searching for a meal at the Prince George Airport.