I visited the Ridgefield NWR today, March 13, 2019. Here, I spotted this Northern Harrier on the ground holding something down under its talons that I couldn’t see in the grass. It started to eat the prey and I noticed that the bites of prey were not visible like they typically are when raptors eat rodents. After a few minutes the bird decided to fly about a hundred feet away, which is when I got this shot. I drove the hundred feet closer to the bird and continued to watch it eat. In only a few more minutes the bird decided to walk away from its catch, while shaking its head repeatedly, as if it were trying to get rid of the part it just ate. The bird obviously didn’t like its dinner.
Canon 5D Mark III, 1/1250, f5, ISO 400, 500mm, 5:37 p.m.
