Photo 14987527, (c) Martin R. Lucas, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Martin R. Lucas

Attribution © Martin R. Lucas
some rights reserved
Uploaded by martinlucas martinlucas
Source iNaturalist
Associated observations

Photos / Sounds

What

Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)

Observer

martinlucas

Date

April 2018

Description

This bird flew over my house in North Judson, IN at, perhaps, 300' in altitude heading due north. It was alone and flew with strong steady wing beats. It's mostly white or pale gray with distinct black wing tips and black tail. I'm guessing it's something in the Accipitridae, but it also reminded me of a gull, though they are rarely seen traveling alone here. It seemed a fairly large bird to me, with a wingspan similar or perhaps a bit more than a red-tailed hawk. I had a camera with a telephoto lens at hand, but these were the best I could do given the bird's altitude and speed. I've noticed expert birders can often ID a bird from fairly sketchy images, and this one seemed unusual to me. So if you can, please suggest an ID. Probably just migrating through.

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