On the Rice Check - Northern Harrier
Ronald W. Schlorff©
Original (16 x 12) - $1250.00
In the western hemisphere the northern harrier, formerly called the marsh hawk, is found nesting
from Alaska and Canada to the southern United Sates. It migrates to Central America and northern
South America in the winter. This raptor is well adapted to grasslands and any agricultural
croplands that are not too dense or have woody vegetation such as vineyards and orchards.
Although the male has mostly gray plumage and the female is primarily brown in color, both sexes
have a white rump patch. Their prey primarily consists of small rodents which they capture in a
short dive from their characteristic low level coursing above suitable hunting habitats.
This female harrier is resting briefly, and perhaps preening her feathers, while standing on a portion
of the low dikes, known as checks, that are employed by rice farmers to control water distribution
to their crops. This is a fallow field or one after harvest in the fall. Both members of the pair are
visible possibly indicating that nesting duties are completed for the year and now the concentration
is on obtaining sufficient energy reserves for their long migration south for the winter.
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