Raptor Risks Raiding Ranch

Actually it was more of a brief visit to our Fawnview Ranch but the alliteration is not quite as nice.  

This afternoon an adult female Northern Harrier dropped in to sit at the edge of our fish pond, 15 feet from our large backyard windows.  

She eyed the pond (perhaps the fish ?) for several minutes before I went outside to shoo her off as the fish “feared for their lives.”  

Upon some reflection:  I wished I had used my regular camera instead of the cell phone, I wished I had taken a little video of her with it, and finally I thought it was likely she was just preparing to drink as I don’t think these birds go after small goldfish.  They hunt on the wing.. some birds but mostly small animals. 

Even with the “shoo away” she just flew a few yards to the top of our swing arbor and sat there looking at me with obvious disdain.   She did not seem to bother the adolescent cardinals on the feeder nearby, nor was she interested in them.  After another 5 minutes she flew away without accomplishing whatever she had intended.

In our blog post of Feb 7, 2014 we had a visit from a Cooper’s Hawk.  The Northern Harrier is noticeably larger with a different face. You can see that post by clicking HERE