The Gray Ghost

I decided, kind of on the spur of the moment, to drive about 45 minutes north of here to a big national wildlife refuge that is known as a wintering ground for Northern Harriers, Short-eared Owls and Rough-legged Hawks.  I hadn't been there all of 10 minutes when I got my first glimpse of a harrier, hunting low over the marsh, way too far away for my lens.  I also got a decent look at a rough-legged hawk, hovering high in the air, again too far for photos.  So, I decided to sludge my way through the snow and see what else came along. 

I found a somewhat agreeable flock of song sparrows and set about trying to sneak up on them.  I'd just finished getting a few shots when I looked up ... and saw this gorgeous male harrier, headed straight towards where I was standing.  No time to change camera settings so I just tried to focus as he sped my way.  The male harriers are a soft gray above which is where they get the "gray ghost" name.  Females are slightly larger and brown above with a very distinctive white patch on the rump.  I actually saw three on my way up to the marsh, not more than 7 miles from home.  You can see another view HERE, which shows the owl-like face.  

Speaking of owls, I'm hoping I can convince hubs to go back with me Sunday at dusk with the hopes of seeing the short-eared owls as they start hunting.  They are strictly nocturnal, so quite rare to see one in daylight.  

Today is the first day of the Great Backyard Bird Count, a worldwide 4-day event that anyone can participate in.  Lots of fun and valuable information for scientists.  And you can do it in as little as 15 minutes a day - so what are you waiting for?  By the way, I went to 3 locations in addition to my yard today and managed to record 26 species today.  The last species of the day - 15 wild turkeys silently passing through the yard while I was crouched outside taking pictures.  What a delight!

I posted three other pics on Flickr, starting HERE - two birds and one white-tailed deer.  

On my way home, I stopped in to see MIL.  The nurse told me that she'd been very tired today so they were just taking her to her room for a nap.  I went in and sat with her for a bit until I could see that she could barely keep her eyes open.  We had her out for a couple of hours yesterday for a visit to a kidney doctor and I suspect that it wore her out a bit.  She was flirting relentlessly and with great enthusiasm with both the male nurse and the doctor - no wonder she's tired today!  Her nephew (Hub's cousin) is going to stop by tomorrow for a visit which will be great.  Hoping I can meet him there as it has been too long since I last saw him.  

Happy Friday, people.  And thank you for all the lovely comments on my birthday blip for my dad yesterday.  He's a pretty special guy, if you didn't already guess.

xo
Debbi