Harriers frustrate me!
I love seeing them.
They are so interesting to watch while they swoop low, back and forth across a field looking for prey. But I never manage to get good photos. Since my abilities lie in the "auto-focus/point-and-shoot range", trying to keep up with them and getting a good focus is hard. I no sooner find the bird and I run out of window space (shooting from the car) or it gets too far ahead of where we are sitting. I know exactly where to go to see them.....Blue Grass.....and we always see at least one. Yesterday we saw at least two possibly three.
These are not good shots, but at least they give the idea of how the Harrier hunts. They are easily recognized by that white patch right behind the wings. They also fly low to the ground and their head is pointed downward as they hunt.
Wings up, head down...typical!.....and trees in the way :-)
This one is high up, hanging while it looks down.
Low and spread out. (Don't bother clicking on these...they don't improve!)
We had unusual luck and found one sitting on the ground...eating something that must have been pretty big because we watched it eat for about 20 minutes before we gave up and left. Now, you would think that in that length of time I might get at least ONE good shot???? No...the grass and the bird just sort of blend together.
He would pause and look around and then the head went back down to his dinner.
We are sitting on a road and he is about 50 yards out. Looked better with the binoculars than the camera. I wish I had taken the extender lens with me. I love seeing them....but just once wish I would get a better photo!
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5 comments:
Oh, I think you did a marvelous job capturing him. I learned something from this post...really didn't know about identifying Harriers properly. So, thank you!
Don't despair. I have tried many times to get good shots of this bird and so far have not done too well. At least we can clearly see that it is a Harrier,unlike many of my shots which are a brown blur.
You should be proud Mary. I lived in their hunting grounds for 22 years and don't have a better shot than any of yours! They can be found here in Alabama this time of year, but I have to search for them.
You get better shots than I ever do...they move so fast. And I swear the ones here are afraid of vehicles now...when I first started seeing them they did not mind them.
These kind of birds (Raptors) are never easy to get anywhere near Mary. You get to see them, thats the main thing.
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