Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)

Photo by Dave Kemp

Once called the Marsh Hawk

The Northern Harrier photo (above) was taken by my west coast acquaintance, Dave Kemp.   When he sent me the photo, Dave called it a Marsh Hawk.   There was a time when everyone called this slim, gray raptor a Marsh Hawk.   Here is how it was described, in part, in an old 1926 bird guide of mine, that was gifted to me by a friend several years ago.

"As shown by its name, this hawk is found most abundantly in or around marshes or wet meadows.   I have found them especially abundant in boggy marshes such as frequented by bitterns.   Their flight is quiet and owl-like, and as they do most of their feeding toward dusk, they often seem like owls as they flit by without a sound.   Their food is composed chiefly of meadow mice and moles, which they spy and dash down upon as they fly at low elevations".

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BarrytheBirder