{"id":119320,"date":"2023-12-25T03:18:23","date_gmt":"2023-12-25T10:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=119320"},"modified":"2023-12-25T03:28:36","modified_gmt":"2023-12-25T10:28:36","slug":"christmas-day-young-northern-harrier-on-the-wing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/12\/25\/christmas-day-young-northern-harrier-on-the-wing\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Day Young Northern Harrier On The Wing"},"content":{"rendered":"

On this Christmas morning, I am sharing a photo of a young female Northern Harrier in flight that I took exactly three years ago at Farmington Bay WMA.<\/p>\n

\"ChristmasChristmas Day young Northern Harrier \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

That Christmas morning, I found a lot of birds, including an immature Great Blue Heron, a handsome male American Kestrel, a couple of young Red-tailed Hawks, and one Bald Eagle adult perched in a tree. I also saw several Northern Harriers.<\/p>\n

I’m not sure why I never shared this harrier image before, except maybe because that Christmas Day was pretty birdy. The young female Northern Harrier flew in so close that I could barely fit her into my viewfinder.<\/p>\n

I’ve been struggling this week with this sinus stuff I have had going on. I am also missing my mother. It is my first Christmas without her, and it already seems so strange that I can’t call and hear her voice on the other end of the phone on this holiday. I can almost hear Mom telling me to get outside with nature, even if it is only for a few minutes; that it will do me good. I hope I feel up to that later today.<\/p>\n

But I do have my darling sons, their wonderful families, my supportive niece Kristal, and her daughter Wren, along with amazing friends and family that are near and dear to my heart this Christmas. They are gifts each and every day. I’m so grateful for you all. I am blessed.<\/p>\n

I am also grateful for the solace, joy, and peace that being in nature offers me every day of the year.<\/p>\n

Happy Holidays, Everyone! Thank you for being here with me today and always. I hope your holiday is filled with love, joy, friends, and family!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to view more of my Northern Harrier photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On this Christmas morning, I am sharing a photo of a young female Northern Harrier in flight that I took exactly three years ago at Farmington Bay WMA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1022,697,348,26],"tags":[2663,765,4070,4052,4122,2783,3164,5381,4033,4169,4359,4067,4094,767,4006,153,4095,373,4193],"class_list":["post-119320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-northern-harriers","category-utah","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-circus-hudsonius","tag-female","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-harrier","tag-harriers","tag-hatch-year","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hen","tag-immature","tag-marsh","tag-marsh-hawk","tag-northern-harrier","tag-raptors","tag-wetlands","tag-winter","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/northern-harrier-hatch-year-female-flight-mia-mcpherson-2819.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-v2w","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20298,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/02\/20\/northern-harriers-on-the-wing\/","url_meta":{"origin":119320,"position":0},"title":"Northern Harriers On The Wing","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Male Northern Harriers, also called Gray Ghosts, are especially delightful to my eye when their plumage contrasts with soft bluebird skies that have just a touch of habitat in them","rel":"","context":"In "Davis County"","block_context":{"text":"Davis County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/davis-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Northern Harrier with the Wasatch Range in the background, photographed from Farmington Bay, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/northern-harrier-flight-mia-mcpherson-0622.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/northern-harrier-flight-mia-mcpherson-0622.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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