They show up near my home in southern Iowa just after the leaves and grass turn brown. Flowers are done for. Bees are tucked into holes for the winter. Birds don’t sing. Life is in hiding.
But in the distance this November day, a big bird sails close to the ground. At about at my eye level, it moves slowly, with languid wingbeats. Sometimes it disappears behind the tops of grasses and then comes into view again. It seems to float, as if buoyed by a cushion of air.
You can recognize a Northern Harrier by its flight style alone. Nothing else hunts quite that way, so slow, so low, so gracefully.
Female Northern Harrier
The bird tacks back and forth, gradually getting closer. Its head tilts down, eyes aimed below it. I feel my breath come quicker. The hawk flutters to the ground but instantly rises again. Must have missed that vole.
The Northern Harrier I’m watching is brownish, with banded tail and underwings. So it’s a female. She lands again and takes some time before she flies. This time, I think she got the vole.
The low-level flight gives the harrier an extra advantage of surprise. A small rodent would get scant warning, compared to seeing a hawk in the sky. There’s no time to run into a burrow. Just a sudden shadow and then talons.
Male Northern Harrier
Both male and female Northern Harriers have a long tail and narrow wings. However, the male is a grey ghost. He’s white below, steel grey above, with inky wingtips. If you didn’t know, you’d think male and female were different species.
The difference in color scheme between male and female is unusual among North American hawks.
The white badge
But in both genders, the top of the rump is white. Striking as a badge, this is a way to recognize a Northern Harrier even flying high and far off in the sky.
Wherever you are in North America, Northern Harriers are present at some time of the year. in Iowa, they’re winter residents.
I’m watching the female shift her direction and glide away from me. Now and then she gives a little flap, like a skater pushing off with one foot, and skims through the air as if riding on ice.
When I’m lucky I spot one slowly flying over a small section of our farm at just this time of year. However, one of my most memorable sights years ago was seeing dozens of them crisscrossing a low area while driving from Houston to Galveston in January. We stopped the car to just soak in that view and the feeling of awe. I didn’t even try to count them.
I love Northern Harriers too. It sounds like you have perfect habitat. It is a thrill to me to see one fly low over a field. I haven’t seen many in heavily wooded Maine.