Marsh hawk, Assekonk

In getting ready for one of my absolute favorite activities—spending the day at our local middle school to take the science classes out on nature walks—I trekked the area I'd be using as an outdoor classroom and took careful notes about the natural history that we'd be likely to encounter. Most of the leaves had already fallen and the Assekonk Swamp was looking early-autumn bare. But there'd be plants aplenty, a nice representation of ducks, geese, and small songbirds, and maybe, if we were lucky, a good selection of amphibians. It would be a fine learning experience, even if the only thing the kids accomplished was making detailed entries in their notebooks. Learning how to capture observational data would be a great lesson. I could only hope for a repeat of the lesson I was about to receive as I scanned the back stretches of the swamp and spotted the shadow of a large bird floating elegantly over the reeds. It lacked the V'd wings of a Turkey Vulture, so I kept the camera focused on the floater and took picture after picture. It felt like a Marsh Hawk, but I'd never seen one here before. When I examined and enhanced the images, there was no doubt. I had data. The long straight tail was proof-positive that Circus cyaneus, a.k.a., the Northern Harrier, was on patrol. Please let him put in a return visit on Friday!