Ghostly

March is proving to be a fickle month from a running perspective. With an unexpected delay in getting my training ramped up thanks to some less than appreciated weather in Arizona, I am admittedly behind on my training. Built back the base as well as I could during the first part of February and transitioned to the hard trails a few weeks ago. Long runs, steep technical terrain and lungs determined to break their rib cage confinement. The annoying part is dealing with ever-changing weather conditions. 30F’s with slick heavy frost, then 50’s with trail weeping in the lowlands followed by beautiful 75’s only to give way back to the 30’s the following day producing some comical scenes catching black ice lurking below the leaves. That was all manageable until the grey skies arrived yesterday and tossed me back onto the pavement. While I impatiently wait for the trails to harden, thought it would be a good time to get my first post of the month out.

Hit the jump to read more about this ghostly predator.

While going through my processed shots from out January 2023 trip to Texas, I came upon this series of shots and figured it would be a perfect selection in light of the grey skies that have given me a rare day off. We had just spent the day at Estero Llano Grande State Park (yes, the Estero I am always raving about in the Rio Grande Valley related posts). Heading back the nearby RV park, we came upon a small field just off the road. There a lone bird was silently hunting the grounds.

Low, effortless strafing runs methodically searching for prey on every pass. Quickly went through my internal ID process – long tails, slightly swept back (‘V’) wings, slim body, hooded, no shoulder patches, whitish toned underside, sparse barring/spotting, limited wing beats, but something was off and that means tin time. Shouted our super-secret code word for “Bri’s gotta go” and grabbed for the door handle – Linda barely got the Jeep stopped before I was leaping out and trying to get The Beast on this intriguing target. Welcome to the world of extreme birding ha.

Through the glass I was able to confirm a Rocky Marciano nose, owl-like projections around the eyes and then, after patiently waiting for an expected turn at the end of the field, there it was, a white rump patch. Note, the white rump is a solid tell here in the Midwest, but down in Texas you need to quickly check off a couple of other possibilities like the White-Tailed Hawks (link here), White-Tailed Kites (link here), Harris’s Hawk and a few others. All signs pointed to a Northern Harrier, but something was off, my decision tree indicates it should be drenched in browns. This specimen was clearly decked out in grey… pondered a moment and then it clicked.

Our astute readers probably already know my oversight on this one. I have heard about the male Northern Harrier, but oddly enough, never witnessed one. With that new experience I can now update my constantly improving internal birding decision tree! The Cornell website does not give justice to how grey the males are in this species. In fact, that site doesn’t even reference their nickname as the Grey Ghost. I rarely have good things to say about the Audubon site, but I do like their (now outdated) Sketch area (link here), which has a nice write up on the males (link here).

Northern Harriers are widespread here in North America and nearly all of Central America. Our friends across the pond refer to them as “Hen Harriers” named for their preference of Grouse and other fowl. They are year-long residents across the middle of the States – some moving north for breeding and others wanting to keep their wingtips warm will soar south. I mentioned the owl-like projections earlier. They are a really good field indicator to ID the Harrier as it is rare (if not the only) Hawk that has this feature which is referred to as “facial discs”. Similar to Owls, these discs help funnel sound into the ears. Enhanced hearing, hawk eyes and silent gliding due to limited need for wing beats makes this species deadly day hunters.

The adult Harriers have beautiful yellow eyes which I am sure males use to their advantage when wooing mates. According to Cornell, the males are quite the players taking on multiple females, which caught me by surprise as I was aware they will fiercely defend their nests. Now wondering if there is a “preferred” mate and the others are stashed elsewhere in local plush apartments with a monthly Vole stipend – “Honey, going bowling with the guys, don’t wait up, I’ll be back late”.

Although not a new species for me, the Grey Ghost was definitely a treat and worth the chastising I received from Linda about jumping out of the car before she came to a safe exit point. I’ve learned that my “but it was a’s” don’t hold much weight with her. Since I can’t get on the trails at the moment, time to toughen up the mental game by finishing the final pages of “Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness” by Steve Magness followed by another viewing of Lucy’s Dad (link here). Race season is coming up fast and I need every bit of inspiration I can get ha.

Take care everyone!