Where: Shenandoah National Park, VA • Big Meadows
Notes: Flight photography can be nearly as active for the photographer as it is for the subject. This species, formerly known as the Marsh Hawk, roams over open fields and marshlands in search of small rodents and other prey. As they hunt, they cover vast areas in their search. I had seen this female raptor out hunting over the open meadow earlier that day and kept in mind that she might fly by closer to my position at some point. As I sat low in the brush near a patch of short trees in the meadow, waiting for a Bluebird to return to its favorite perch, this Harrier started a flight pattern around the back of the trees. When it came back into view and started an arch in its path towards my position. I quickly loosened the tripod head, changed from still shot to motion tracking, check the shutter speed, and clicked up the compensation a little as the bird flew against the sky. As the hawk cleared the distant horizon, I followed it in the viewfinder and finally the auto-focus acquired a lock. As it passed, it seemed to glance at me, surprised to find me there hiding in the brush. Yet, it flapped along, unchanged in its course, then passed with a long slow glide it flew back across the field.