This is a good time of year to ride shotgun while traveling. Late this 
afternoon, something caught my wife's eye and wouldn't let go. I could 
tell before she even said anything that I needed the next pullout... 
quickly!

We both jumped out of the car. In the bright, low-angle light, my 
split-second thought was ring-billed gull - so white was this bird 
underneath (with black wing tips). But this was clearly not a gull.

Circling upward on a thermal, then streaming northward, there was no 
mistaking that this was a migrating male Northern Harrier.

Despite having seen many dozens of this species in many settings, I 
don't recall ever seeing a male from below in such brilliant light... an 
unforgettable sighting of a not-so-unusual species, far more satisfying 
than glimpsing a rare species staked out by someone else!

Keep an eye skyward these days.
Doug Hardy, Norwich


-------- Original Message --------

Beaver Meadow Rd, Windsor, US-VT
Apr 6, 2014 5:30 PM
1 species

Northern Harrier  1

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S17779947

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/vt)

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