{"id":29031,"date":"2015-10-07T06:12:30","date_gmt":"2015-10-07T12:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=29031"},"modified":"2021-11-24T04:04:45","modified_gmt":"2021-11-24T11:04:45","slug":"a-hovering-harrier-head-down-and-eyes-on-the-ground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/10\/07\/a-hovering-harrier-head-down-and-eyes-on-the-ground\/","title":{"rendered":"Hovering Harrier – Head Down and Eyes on the Ground"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Hovering<\/p>\n

Hovering Northern Harrier – Nikon D200, f5.6, 1\/1600, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Just a short post this morning because I am fighting internet connection issues again<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I photographed this hovering Northern Harrier several years ago at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area as it scanned the marsh below for prey. Normally I would want to be able to see the eyes or have the bird looking at me but in this image I felt the hovering behavior was important and this is the way harriers are seen when they are hunting… head down and eyes on the ground.<\/p>\n

Sorry this is short.<\/p>\n

By the way, my camera is out of the shop and now it and it just needs to be shipped. I hope they overnight it, I will know once the tracking number is entered.<\/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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I photographed this hovering Northern Harrier several years ago at Farmington Bay Water Fowl Management Area as it scanned the ground below for prey. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":134712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,697,348,26],"tags":[4004,2663,765,4070,4052,4122,2783,3164,4174,3970,4094,767,4006,4095,373],"class_list":["post-29031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-northern-harriers","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-circus-hudsonius","tag-female","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-harrier","tag-harriers","tag-hovering-2","tag-hunting","tag-marsh","tag-marsh-hawk","tag-northern-harrier","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/northern-harrier-hovering-mia-mcpherson-4534.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-7yf","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61001,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/10\/25\/reasons-why-we-may-be-seeing-fewer-northern-harriers-at-farmington-bay\/","url_meta":{"origin":29031,"position":0},"title":"Reasons Why We May Be Seeing Fewer Northern Harriers At Farmington Bay","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I don't see nearly as many harriers over the marshes at Farmington Bay as I used to five to ten years ago but the marshes have changed some since I moved to northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern Harrier hovering while on the hunt, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/northern-harrier-hovering-mia-mcpherson-3217.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/northern-harrier-hovering-mia-mcpherson-3217.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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at Farmington Bay WMA, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/northern-harrier-winter-hovering-utah-mia-mcpherson-0653.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/northern-harrier-winter-hovering-utah-mia-mcpherson-0653.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/northern-harrier-winter-hovering-utah-mia-mcpherson-0653.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/northern-harrier-winter-hovering-utah-mia-mcpherson-0653.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1454,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/11\/24\/northern-harrier-gray-ghost\/","url_meta":{"origin":29031,"position":2},"title":"Northern Harrier – Gray Ghost","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I will have more opportunities with northern harriers in better light this winter and while I wouldn't consider this image perfect, I am happy with the results I obtained while photographing this \"Gray Ghost\".","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":"\u201cGray Ghost\u201d, male Northern Harrier in hovering flight, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/northern-harrier-mia-mcpherson-male-flight-4804.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/northern-harrier-mia-mcpherson-male-flight-4804.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/northern-harrier-immature-female-winter-mia-mcpherson-9180.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/northern-harrier-immature-female-winter-mia-mcpherson-9180.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/northern-harrier-immature-female-winter-mia-mcpherson-9180.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/northern-harrier-immature-female-winter-mia-mcpherson-9180.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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