Wild Bird Wednesday

Last fall when my friend and I went to Bong, we saw this handsome young male Kestrel.

As we watched him we realized that he had an unusual marking on the back of his head.  He has a white bullseye where it is usually a rufus color.

 

The usual coloring of a male Kestral so you can compare ...

Off he flew to an unsteady branch on top of a tree ...

After his brief balancing act he flew away ...

But then, across the road we saw a large hawk.  He was too far away and my zoom lens wasn't enough to be able to identify him.  But, when I got home, downloaded the pictures and digitally zoomed in on him, I was very surprised to see a male Northern Harrier.  He has the long wings and tail and the signature field mark of the white rump patch.  Whoo Hoo ... I know they are around, but in 10 years of hawk watching, I have only seen one other Northern Harrier.  Very exciting :)