The Gray Ghost of Dust Devil Trail

There is one raptor that I am always on the lookout for and that is the male Northern Harrier, aka the "Gray Ghost". Once again my birding friend Eve, one of the best spotters I know, saw one at the Dust Devil Nature Trail at San Dieguito Lagoon and notified me to be on the lookout for him. Dust Devil Trail sounds ominous but it just happens to be named after a group of volunteers that helped create this wonderful trail. The Dust Devil volunteer group was started in the early 1990s by a few concerned individuals led by San Dieguito River Parks supporter Max Kiltz .

We have had some rain and the sky has been overcast with the sun breaking though in an unpredictable way through big high clouds as they float past. Here are a few photos of the Dust Devil trail taken by Eve on her cell phone.

"Day one" of my search for the Gray Ghost, the elusive male Northern Harrier, and I got only a few seconds glance at him as he flew past and over the hill.  And even though I waited for three hours searching that was the last sighting of him for the day.

As I waited and waited to spot the Gray Ghost again, I spotted something the size of a large dog. It turned out to be a jack rabbit and he was bigger than your average Beagle!

As I make my way to the parking lot heading for home, I spot an American Kestrel with a hummer nearby. 

Here is a close-up of the brave hummer. 

A Turkey Vulture glides by...

 As I get to the entrance to the north trail, I spot a female Northern Harrier flying fast and low.

 

She takes a quick look and is on her way. What a beautiful and graceful raptor she is.  Northern Harrier, Circus cyaneus measures18 inches in long with a wingspan of 43 inches. The female is brown but the male is pale gray with black tips on his flight primaries and on the trailing edges of his wing.

A nice side view. 

Not getting to see enough of the male Harrier on my first day visiting the Dust Devil Trail,  I decide to try again the next day.  With an earlier start I was rewarded with an immediate sighting as soon as I arrived at the Dust Devil north trail on "Day Two". 

At first, I didn't even see him perched on this snag, he blends in so well with the background. I was delighted to spot him just sitting there relaxing but wished he was a bit closer. On a cloudy day and with the full extent of my 400mm lens this is the best I could get. 

He spots something and he takes flight.

The Ghost has found a Red-tailed Hawk intruding into his territory and he is on the attack to drive him out. The male harrier is flying fast and low. See how well he blends in with the background. His coloring is perfect for stealth flight.

Swoops around and gets ready to give the Red-tail his message to leave the area. 

Now the message is clear... the male Harrier is coming at the Red-tailed Hawk with open talons. 

 The Harrier swoops by the hawk and makes a quick turn back towards the hawk. 

The hawk slaps his wings up in a defensive move ready to throw up his talons if the harrier makes contact. The male Harrier swoops past with lowered talons. 

Now it's time for team Harrier to play tag team and the hawk realizes that he is out-gunned and leaves his perch for a quick exit. This female harrier appears very large. Some females can measure up to 20 inches long with a wingspan of 48 inches.

The male harrier finds another Red-tailed hawk just about 1/2 mile east of the last altercation and quickly escorts this hawk out of his territory as well. This was the last shot of the male Harrier I got that day as he kept flying east. Male harriers maintain a territory averaging 1.0 square mile however can be as large as 57 square miles according to Wikipedia. I decided to rest a few days and try again on Monday.

Today is Monday the 14th, "Day Three" and I spot the female already hunting for breakfast. Note the large white rump patch which makes both male and female harriers easy to ID in flight.

  

I wait quite a while for the "Gray Ghost" to appear and my patience pays off as I spot the male Northern Harrier flying in my direction. I am so grateful to have gotten a few shots of this magnificent raptor today. I am feeling very lucky to have had another chance to get a closer look at the Gray Ghost as he glides past. Here are a few shots of the flyby. Notice the gray coloring on top and almost pure white on his underwings.

One last shot and I am ready to head home to see all the photos I got today. I start my walk back to the van smiling from ear to ear!

The female is also around and she is perched in her favorite tree.  According to info at the Wikipedia website, this female may not be his only mate. The male harrier may have as many as five females he will breed with in a season. These are the only hawk-like raptors that are known to practice polygamy. 

I must have made this little guy a little curious because he just posed for a few shots before he flew off chasing another hummer out of his territory. Yes, it is that time of the year when all the male hummers are in a constant state of war over their territories.

The little hummer flies off and as I watch him chase his intruder, I catch a glimpse of gray popping over the trees. It's the Ghost again and look at his talons -- he is carrying nesting material!!!  Woo hoo!  What a exciting sight!

He has a nest going in this area and that is why he and the female have been so protective of this territory! A harrier nest is built on the ground or on a mound of dirt or vegetation. They are made with sticks and the nest bowl is lined with grass and leaves.The female will lay 4 to 8 eggs and do most of the incubation. After 31 to 32 days of incubation the chicks hatch and the male may help feed the checks for a short time but soon the female takes over all the feedings. The chicks will fledge at around 36 days old.

 I am so happy that I had a chance to see such a wonderful sight today. 

He circles the clump of trees where the female harrier was perched and heads north with his branch securely held in his talons.

I hope he is getting comfortable with my presence and will allow me to take more photos of him soon.

 

Like his name, the Ghost disappears over the hills. What a wonderful day it has been today for seeing the "Gray Ghost"! Now it's time for me to head back to my nest. I know I will be back visiting the Dust Devil Trail soon. 

Have a fantastic week everyone!