Daily Bird: Northern Harrier

A young male Northern Harrier in Ellington. Photo graph courtesy of Jim Howard.

A photo on Twitter this morning by Jim Howard (@howie4267) of a Northern Harrier in Ellington, Connecticut, prompted us to open the vault for this gem, written in 2014 by Anthony Zemba, who at the time was a staff conservationist for Connecticut Audubon. It’s been edited and updated as of today.

Northern Harrier
Circus cyaneus

February 1, 2020 — The Northern Harrier is a hawk of grasslands and open country. At this time of year it can be found at dozens of locations along the coast, and in open grasslands inland as well.

Northern Harrier is one of about 15 or so species in its genus, Circus, of the taxonomic family Accipitridae, which includes the various eagles, hawks, and kites.

Where to find it: At the mouth of the Housatonic River, one can often find Northern Harrier at the Milford Point Coastal Center (1 Milford Point Road, Milford) and the nearby Great Meadows Unit of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge in Stratford (between Long Beach and Sikorsky Airport).

At the mouth of the Connecticut River, the extensive salt marsh and estuarine marshes of Great Island in Old Lyme typically yield one or two of these birds. But also check eBird. As the accompanying screen shot here shows, Northern Harrier can be found in scores of places in our area.

This eBird screen shot shows where Northern Harriers have been reported in the region over the past month.

The bird is best searched for by scanning open areas lower than one might expect. These raptors peruse the grasslands at low elevations, as opposed to the more familiar broad-winged raptors in the genus Buteo, which often soar high above in concentric circles.

What it looks like: Northern Harriers have a typical raptor silhouette, but they appear a bit longer, slimmer and more elegant than the broader-winged Buteos, and they can be distinguished from the various falcons by the distinct individual feather projections at the ends of their wings.

While hunting, they will hold their wings out in a dihedral position rocking from side to side much like the larger Turkey Vulture. Adult males are variable shades of light bluish gray, with lighter underwings trimmed in black.

The adult males are often referred to as “Gray Ghosts” by birders. Adult females have barred tails and wings with brown streaked breasts. Juvenile birds appear similar to the adult female but have finer streaking and an overall rufous hue underneath. A distinctive field mark in all plumages is a white rump patch, which is typically visible from long distances.

At this time of year at Milford Point, birders are welcome on both the beach and sandbar on Long Island Sound, and on Smith Point, which extends west along the beach, toward the Housatonic River. The views and the birding are excellent. Follow the signs and please stay off private property.

Conservation status: Globally, the Northern Harrier is considered to be of least concern. However it is included on Connecticut’s list of Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species as an “Endangered Species.”