Northern Harrier with Nesting Material

 I’ve been photographing Northern Harriers in northern Utah for five years now and until earlier this week I’d only seen this species carrying nesting material once before and wasn’t able to photograph it.   Harriers are very common here during winter but most of them head north for the breeding season and those that stay usually build their nests in inaccessible areas of the marsh, so it’s rare for me to see any nesting activities. 

 

 

Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 400

Two days ago Mia and I were photographing birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.  We were about to call it a day because it was late in the morning and light was no longer optimal when we spotted this harrier flying at a distance.  We figured it would veer off before it got close, as they always seem to do out there, but this one kept coming toward us.  We were watching it through our lenses and soon noticed that it had nesting material in its beak. 

 

Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 400

By chance we happened to be at a place on the dirt road that was within 100′ or so of the  nest of this bird.  It decided to ignore us and come in to complete its delivery.

 

 

Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 400

The nest is apparently in this bed of last year’s dead Phragmites.  The dark spots you see in the last three images of this post are Chironomid  midges which are extremely abundant at the refuge.  They provide a significant protein source for many bird species during egg laying and molting.  At times during the year these midges form black tornado shaped clouds along the refuge roads.  Many first time visitors to the refuge assume they are mosquitos so they leave their vehicle windows up and often leave the refuge quickly because of the midges.  Thankfully they don’t bite but there will often be dozens of them in your vehicle by the time you complete the loop road.

 

 

 

This photo should give you some idea of just how abundant the midges are at the refuge this time of year.  I chose the image with the car on the road to give some idea of scale and size of the midge “tornado”.   It’s almost impossible to focus on anything in a shot like this because of all the bugs in the air. 

 

 

Canon 7D, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 400

We couldn’t actually see the nest from our vantage point but the harrier landed and disappeared in the Phragmites.  We waited for a short while but she never reappeared so she may have been incubating by now. 

I was delighted to get some acceptable images of a harrier with nesting material.  Of the thousands of shots I have of the species this was a first for me.

Ron