This weekend I made 2 trips chasing a couple of raptors. On Saturday I succeeded on capturing some good shots of the Merlin. I had seen him once before but not gotten any decent photos. Merlins are not very common in my area and I have only seen a few despite doing nature photography for around 20 years. Merlins are small, fierce falcons that use surprise attacks to bring down small songbirds and shorebirds. They are powerful fliers, but you can tell them from larger falcons by their rapid wingbeats and overall dark tones. Medieval falconers called them “lady hawks,” and noblewomen used them to hunt Sky Larks. On Saturday I got a few quick peeks of the Northern Harrier but nothing exciting.

The Merlin on his favorite snag. A little bug is flying nearby.

Merlin in flight.

Merlin in flight.

Merlin coming in for a landing.

Merlin in flight.

On Sunday I returned to the same park for another shot at the Northern Harrier. The one I was trying to photograph was the male which is nicknamed the Gray Ghost. Northern Harriers fly low over the ground when hunting, weaving back and forth over fields and marshes as they watch and listen for small animals. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost United States. The northern harrier migrates south in winter, with breeding birds in Canada and northern Great Plains of the U.S. moving to the American south, Mexico, and Central America. This was not my favorite type of photography because I had to stand around waiting for the bird to show up and come close. I spent about 2 hours each morning and got 3-4 passes by me with a decent one early Sunday followed by a great one about an hour later. The bird is actually flying right next to the county dump on the dump property. To shoot it I actually brought a step stool to shoot over the barb wire fence. It ended up being worthwhile though!

Male Northern Harrier AKA the Gray Ghost.

Looking our direction on the first pass of the morning.

Pair of Juvenile Bald Eagles flying over the dump.

Head on with a Harrier.

Giving us the eye on it’s second, closer pass.

The Gray Ghost gliding by.

Landing gear deployed.