Outdoor Ontario
Birding Reports => Toronto Reports => Topic started by: Shortsighted on April 07, 2025, 04:50:37 PM
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Over a stubbled field between Finch and Steeles. Not actually that close to the road.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-95nZ2H7/0/L8kqzzhWrpwWFLdsvN6GwrDTgw3kdv9pqt33DG4PF/M/Harrier%2Crump%2Ccropped-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-95nZ2H7/A)
Can see the white rump
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-rRWFC6z/0/L5CtnCXgDnnNkhVFLhV7tD8fmqmgX4pXk2K7QsHkX/M/Harrier%20wing%20tips%2Ccropped-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-rRWFC6z/A)
Owl-like face
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Once again, a Northern harrier hunting over the fields belonging to the Rouge. Poor light and distance are hard to manage. The bluebird in the sumac was probably thinking ... give it up, dude.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-CWXnxnR/0/Kn2HtBGTswVXnBJdZgNfVnWQhcBm8CKh8b7tkv7LW/M/Harrier%2Cback%2C9%2Ccropped-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-CWXnxnR/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-vfzx5sz/0/K97XJ9NgSQLqsLrpkDPdctL2DJXssf7kKW7nVrgzk/M/Harrier%2Cside%2Ccropped-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-vfzx5sz/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-2CJLHnM/0/L9rDHqvzdHZhtxrMgJB64QsR562nb2PwLZkZL3s7N/M/Harrier%2Ctail%20spread%2C2%2Ccropped-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-2CJLHnM/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-cK5KjJ6/0/LcDJnV54kcSk4r4ZHnpBKNkZXT76GNpR579qTZk3m/M/Harrier%2Ctail%20spread%2Ccropped-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-cK5KjJ6/A)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-s2T5bM8/0/KSLX9qpkPzKVR6kX6Qbz89kM8mt6Z942DtxzWQJpF/M/Bluebird%2C9%2Ccropped-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontario/Outdoor-Ontario/i-s2T5bM8/A)
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I like harriers because I can easily ID them at a distance.
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Up until recently I wouldn't have been able to make that declaration. I got a rough idea of what a harrier looks like in flight last year because of repeated distant sightings at Cranberry Marsh. For some reason the harrier(s) at that site were always romancing the horizon and only came down to the beach on days that I was absent. This spring I've come to appreciate how light in colour this raptor is. Although still relatively far from me, over a 100 meters distant, the pictured harrier is not as far as the one at Cranberry, which might be better ranged in parsecs. Anyway, the bird appears very pale, a light gray colour, and is easily lost from sight when it skims a few feet above the grassy stubble. I may return to the same location early tomorrow morning, before the clouds roll in and the wet snow commences. Fortunately it's close to home. I also spotted a harrier while driving north on the York/Durham Town Line but there was no shoulder to pull over, and no shoulder to cry on. Another lost opportunity.