{"id":51313,"date":"2018-03-20T06:09:21","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T12:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=51313"},"modified":"2025-10-03T16:07:40","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T21:07:40","slug":"hovering-northern-harrier-plus-my-lifer-harriss-sparrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/03\/20\/hovering-northern-harrier-plus-my-lifer-harriss-sparrow\/","title":{"rendered":"Hovering Northern Harrier Plus My Lifer Harris’s Sparrow"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Harris'sHarris’s Sparrow near Glover Pond – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I really didn’t like the way my morning began yesterday after a failed attempt to get onto Antelope Island State Park<\/span><\/a> was thwarted because of the shed hunt that I’d forgotten was scheduled for yesterday which caused a horrible mess at the entrance due to hundreds of people and vehicles hoping to get drawn for the hunt and waiting to get in.<\/p>\n

Let’s just say I think that there ought to be someone guiding traffic that allows for the people just wanting to get on the island that don’t want to look for shed antlers the ability to go straight through.<\/p>\n

Then deciding to go to Farmington Bay instead and while checking traffic seeing that the Interstate was backed up for 42 minutes because of an accident in the southbound lanes between Antelope Drive and the Park Lane\/Farmington Bay exit.<\/p>\n

Relying on Google maps came in handy yesterday because of trying to stay off of the Interstate and taking back roads that I’d never been on before. Thanks Google maps.<\/p>\n

But… perhaps all wasn’t lost because the first bird I photographed yesterday was a lifer for me. In some shrubs next to Glover Pond I saw two sparrows and the one that quickly drew my eye was a lovely first winter Harris’s Sparrow, jackpot, a lifer! Bingo! Woot!<\/p>\n

I’ve been hoping to see one of these beautiful sparrows since I moved to Utah and yesterday I finally saw one and pointed it out. I wish I would have been a few feet further north which could have given me a much clearer view of the Harris’s Sparrow but I wasn’t driving that day so instead I have only a documentary photo with branches in the way. I am disappointed and delighted at the same time.<\/p>\n

According to Sibley’s Harris’s Sparrows are rare visitors to Utah but I would say they are more uncommon than rare, not many are documented each year here.<\/p>\n

I don’t get many lifers in this neck of the woods because I’ve been photographing here for so long so any lifer here is a thrill.<\/p>\n

\"NorthernNorthern Harrier hovering over a grassy field – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Another interesting thing happened yesterday when a Northern Harrier was hovering over a grassy field and scared up two Ring-necked Pheasants. I wish the light had been better and that I’d been able to get one of the pheasants lifting off in the same frame as the harrier but honestly after the very frustrating way the day started I was happy to even get one decent image of a bird. Any bird. I’d been cooped up for far too long.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good, even when it, people and circumstances beyond my control tests my patience.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

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

In some shrubs next to Glover Pond I saw two sparrows and the one that quickly drew my eye was a lovely first winter Harris’s Sparrow, jackpot, a lifer! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":159161,"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":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1022,697,6416,348,26],"tags":[2663,765,6417,2783,3164,6418,4033,4169,2386,4174,531,4006,1902,855,4195,6420,6419],"class_list":["post-51313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-harriss-sparrow","category-northern-harriers","category-utah","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-circus-hudsonius","tag-grassy-field","tag-harrier","tag-harriers","tag-harriss-sparrow","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-hovering-2","tag-lifer","tag-northern-harrier","tag-rare","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-uncommon","tag-zonotrichia-querula"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/northern-harrier-hovering-mia-mcpherson-8488.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-dlD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":138663,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/10\/first-winter-harriss-sparrow-in-an-arkansas-snowstorm\/","url_meta":{"origin":51313,"position":0},"title":"First Winter Harris’s Sparrow In An Arkansas Snowstorm","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I was over the moon when I saw and photographed a first-winter Harris's Sparrow in a snowstorm yesterday. I\u2019ve waited years and years to take these photos.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"First winter Harris's Sparrow in a snowstorm, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/harriss-sparrow-immature-snow-mia-mcpherson-6181.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/harriss-sparrow-immature-snow-mia-mcpherson-6181.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/harriss-sparrow-immature-snow-mia-mcpherson-6181.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/harriss-sparrow-immature-snow-mia-mcpherson-6181.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"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":51313,"position":1},"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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/northern-harrier-hovering-mia-mcpherson-3217.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/northern-harrier-hovering-mia-mcpherson-3217.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":75615,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/12\/01\/frosty-female-northern-harrier-in-flight\/","url_meta":{"origin":51313,"position":2},"title":"Frosty Female Northern Harrier In Flight","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 1, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I saw a few harriers on the wing yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA and I was able to take a few photos of a female Northern Harrier that still had frost on her nape.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Frosty adult female Northern Harrier in flight, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/northern-harrier-female-frosty-flight-mia-mcpherson-6693.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-female-frosty-flight-mia-mcpherson-6693.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/northern-harrier-female-frosty-flight-mia-mcpherson-6693.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/northern-harrier-female-frosty-flight-mia-mcpherson-6693.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":138723,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/13\/three-zonotrichia-sparrows-in-arkansas-winters\/","url_meta":{"origin":51313,"position":3},"title":"Three Zonotrichia Sparrows in Arkansas Winters","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, I had a trifecta of Zonotrichia sparrows in my viewfinder. These are photos of the three Zonotrichia sparrows that visit Arkansas during the winter.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy adult White-throated Sparrow, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-mia-mcpherson-9912.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-mia-mcpherson-9912.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/white-throated-sparrow-snowstorm-mia-mcpherson-9912.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54616,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/10\/15\/immature-female-northern-harrier-harassing-a-ring-necked-pheasant-hen\/","url_meta":{"origin":51313,"position":5},"title":"Immature Female Northern Harrier Harassing A Ring-necked Pheasant Hen","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A few weeks ago I observed and photographed an immature female Northern Harrier repeatedly harassing a Ring-necked Pheasant hen out on the marshes at Farmington Bay.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Northern Harrier female hovering over a Ring-necked Pheasant hen, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, 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