This is a first for me. I had never seen a Northern Harrier before this encounter.
I observed this bird as I pulled into McInnish Park in Carrollton, TX. The female Northern Harrier was flying low over the reeds that line the bank of a small marshy area. She swooped up and down searching for prey. At one point she even hovered for a moment before moving on. The harrier took a brief rest on a nesting box, before finally leaving the area for good.
That’s a Nutria you can see swimming through the water in the background of one of these picture (indicated by the red arrow).
Please forgive the pictures. They were taken through the windshield of a moving vehicle, and they are not very good.
| County | – | Dallas |
|
| City | – | Carrollton | |
| Date | – | Feb 28, 2012 | |
| Time of Day | – | Morning | |
| Temperature | – | Cool (50-69°F/10-21°C) | |
| Weather | – | Overcast | |
| Habitat | – | Water-Bog/Marsh/Swamp | |
| Type of Behavior | – | Hunting | |
| Gender | – | Female | |
| Maturity | – | Adult | |
| Observer | – | Chris Jackson |
