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Tag Archives: harrier

Scenes from the Salish Sea

Willow and I spent eighteen days in western Washington last month. Our trip coincided with the notorious weather system sometimes called the pineapple express – lots of rainy days. While the weather was disappointing, we still managed to get in lots of walks and I got to do some wildlife photography, mostly birds. I did make a special trip to see foxes and it was a big disappointment. I only found one fox and it was so habituated to people that it sat in the middle of a county road and begged for food. It was a beautiful animal. When I was in Churchill, they called this a cross fox but here, I learned that it is a color variation of a red fox. Foxes were introduced to this island to reduce the rabbit population. The rabbits are also an introduced species.

Marsh Hawks

Last week, when I was in the Okanogan Highlands, I had a chance to watch and photograph Northern Harriers. Their previous name is Marsh Hawk and I don’t know why it was changed. Marsh Hawk is a fitting description as they are often seen flying over marshes and open fields, hunting for prey. They are a beautiful hawk with an owl-like face. These birds are probably juveniles and maybe an adult female. The adult males are gray with similar markings and sometimes referred to as the grey ghost.

Birds, Bees and Big Ears

Despite the heat and the valley full of smoke, animals are abundant. There is a mule deer with twin fawns that we see around our hill pretty often. All the young birds have fledged and are learning to forage with help from their parents. Ken’s bees are still out collecting pollen and nectar from our garden flowers. I do wonder how the smoke affects these animals and if they have shortened life spans because of it.

Big-eared mule deer
The honeybees beard up on the outside of the hive during the hot afternoons
Bullock’s Oriole
Bullock’s Oriole
With the strange light from the smoke-filtered sunlight, I can’t decide if this is a Western Kingbird or a Say’s Phoebe although I lean towards the kingbird.
Female Northern Harrier