Gray Ghost on a Cold Night

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I made out to the viewing platform at Wallkill River NWR Liberty Marsh this evening and it was COLD night! There were not many birds flying close, but I got lucky with the one bird that came close enough for photos – a male Northern Harrier or “Gray Ghost”.  This was the only bird I took photos of tonight, but there were several hunting Northern Harriers, two distant Rough-legged Hawks, and at least one Red-tailed Hawk while I was there. It was not quite dark when I left, honestly I just was getting too cold to stay out, and the Short-eared Owls were not yet up.

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~Male NOHA at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 2/5/15.~
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~Northern Harrier in flight. Wallkill River NWR, 2/5/15.~

 

 

14 thoughts on “Gray Ghost on a Cold Night”

  3. Nice shots, Wasn’t fit for man nor beast this evening. Spent 1 1/2 hours at the refuge and saw 2 Roughlegs. I haven’t seen a Harrier since the snow . That Gray Ghost looks familiar!

    1. Ha Ha Ralph, maybe he made his way down to southern Orange County! I’ll be interested to see what happens if we get more snow this weekend… matt

  4. Matt
    The top image is so exquisite. That is definitely an award winner. I love the way the light is hitting along the edge of the wings, face and the tail.
    This is one to be super proud of.
    I really am identifying with the statement..only bird I took pictures of…..
    I think sometimes we strive so hard to get the gorgeous shots that we don’t take time to just watch the sheer beauty of them all as they go about their activities.
    I’ve been reading articles online about shooting birds in flight and learning more about technique. I can’t wait to be able to try them out.
    Wilma

  5. Matt – – – – – INCREDIBLE! I could not get past the perfection of the top shot! Look at the perfect light and the glint in the Harriers eye. PERFECTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  6. Matt, what a gorgeous sequence of photos! I concur with everyone else’s observations , the first photo of the Gray Ghost is exquisite!

    1. I had reports of small numbers of Lapland Longspurs and many sparrows there today. Hopefully you didn’t totally strike out? matt

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