Northern Harrier
Photo by Matt Valencic

Searching for winter raptors is done from the comfort of your car. Just drive around appropriate habitats, find safe places to stop, then start looking! Some raptors are year-round residents, like Red-tailed, Red-shouldered and Cooper’s Hawks. Others, like Northern Harrier’s, Rough-legged Hawks and Short-eared Owls, arrive here in November/December from their breeding grounds in Canada or the arctic tundra. Get to know their desired habitats and the time of day they hunt, then check eBird to learn where they are being seen (use EXPLORE Species Maps feature). Pack a lunch, grab a birding friend or three, then go ‘chasing’ raptors on a sunny, winter day.

Northern Harriers breed across Canada in grasslands and undisturbed wetlands.  They winter in NE Ohio in the same kind of habitats, including agricultural fields with cover crops and ‘old field’ situations.  They hunt throughout the day by ‘coursing’ low over the vegetation, looking for small mammals. Look for the white ‘rump patch’ above the birds tail as the fly away from you.