Red Tail Fly-by

[Wulff]

Forums empty so I thought id add a post.

Was at Lynde the other day watching some N. harriers circle above the fields when this Red Tail burst out of the brush and "screamed" from left to right in front of me. With the Pines and brush between us and him flying so low to the ground I tihnk its fair to say he had no idea I was there.

Being new to birding and wildlife photography I was pretty happy with the result.
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A few shots later my card was full. As i was walking back to the lot I stumbled into 3 whitetails, two bolted right away. The third stood there not more than 20 feet way staring at me, as I frantically scrambled to delete 3 images. Just as I was raising camera she to bolted.

Lesson learned.
Never fill your card untill your safely back in your vehicle.
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SCIENTOLOGY FORUMS

[cloaca]

That is a Northern Harrier.

Pretty swell shots, though!

[Wulff]

Well colour me fooled, yet again.

Two questions regardin the id and "why" I thought, or better yet was sure it was a Red Tail.

1st) When viewing the images at 100%, the tails have that "redish hue/tint". That could be a trick of the light.

2nd) The eyes. While the apparent red in the tail didnt convinve me the eyes did. To date anyways every N.H Ive seen or have had IDd for me, the eyes were yellow and shaped differently and are very different.. The eyes on this bird are so much alike to every Red Tail ive seen and/or managed to photograph and very unlike all the NHs.

Either way thanks for both clarifying and the complement
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Diplomat

[Kin Lau]

Excellent. Those Harriers are hard to get close to.

Yes, it's a Northern/Marsh Harrier.

[Lloyd]

Oh, you photogs. What excellent pictures! If your field identification skills were as good as your photography talents you could write a book. Keep up the good work!

[cloaca]

Yes, it's a Northern/Marsh Harrier

Well, yes and no.  The Marsh Harrier is a completely different species they get over the pond.  We only get Northern Harriers in Ontario.  

Anyway, the brown eyes seen in the photos likely indicate an immature bird, I believe.  Also, females tend to have slightly darker eyes than the males.

Also, eye colour shouldn't be used as the mark to compare with a Red-tailed Hawk.  Immature red-tails have yellow eyes; they darken with age.

The best things to look at in these photos are the underwing pattern, the presence of a white rump, and, as Kin Lau mentioned in another thread, the face.  

The flight style is typically quite different from that of a Red-tailed hawk, as well.  You'll be able to tell these guys apart from a distance with a little practice.

More photos, please!

[Anonymous]

Excellent shots. Nice to see one that close. wtg:)

[Sierra3]

tks for making my day
beautiful shots

coloring is awesome

Sierra