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Northern Harrier

Circus hudsonius
Accipitridae
Adult male mostly gray above ...
... and white below
Female is brown and noticeably larger than male
White rump at base of long tail conspicuous in both sexes
Facial disk of owl-like face enhances hearing ...
... for locating prey in dense vegetation
From below, male has solid black wing tips whereas ...
... female has black and white wingtips
Usually flies low over expansive vegetation
Gray male is courting brown female ...
... and female catches rodent tossed by male
Clutch of 4-5 eggs in nest built by both parents
Larger chicks more aggressive and get more food
Not all hatchlings will survive to this size
Immature birds of both sexes ...
... look like adult female
Will not migrate if rodent prey sufficient on breeding ground
Native American prayer fan made from tail feathers

According to available data from 2002 to 2023, there has been only one record of the Northern Harrier at Salter Grove.  The individual observed in April 2021 was being mobbed by crows into a conifer along Marsh Trail.  It was a surprising sighting because the expansive, wide-open fields, grasslands and marshes usually preferred by this raptor do not occur in the park.

The Northern Harrier is distinctive even at a distance.  While leisurely gliding low over marsh or grassland, it holds its long slim wings in a shallow V and the white rump at the base of its long tail is quite conspicuous.  At close range, it has an owl-like face and unlike other hawks, uses hearing in addition to its keen eyesight to capture prey beneath dense vegetation.  The feathers around its face form a disk that funnels sound into its ears to pinpoint the location of scurrying rodents and other small mammals hidden from view.  It also hunts small birds or the young of larger birds that occur in its breeding habitat.

Unlike other hawks, it is liked by farmers because it does not hunt poultry.  Moreover, the small mammals that damage crops comprise up to 95% of its diet.  However, the Northern Harrier is not as well liked by other birds.  It is mobbed by a wide range of small to medium-sized birds including even terns--no doubt because it looks like the double threat of both a hawk and an owl.

It breeds across northern North America within open expanses of bogs, grasslands, prairies, and marshes.  The male is smaller and weighs half as much the female but nonetheless may mate with up to five females in one season.  Individuals that breed furthest north winter from the southern United States to Central America.  The bird seen at Salter Grove was probably a bird returning to its northern breeding ground.  When the prey population is sufficiently abundant year-round, however, individuals may stay put on their breeding ground.

The Northern Harrier suffered a decline from ingesting prey that concentrated pesticides during a period of heavy usage during the 1970's and 1980's.  For now, loss of habitat poses the greatest threat to breeding populations.

Native Americans use its tail feathers to craft prayer fans, believing that birds link the physical world to the spiritual one.  Each feather is carefully chosen and prepared.  It is washed with special herbs, trimmed and preened before it is secured with leather to 11 other feathers.  Among other uses, the fan is used to waft healing smoke from medicinal plants towards a patient to heal various ailments.