Hen Harrier (gobirding.eu)

Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus

A decreasing winter visitor and passage migrant in Norfolk.

Scroll down for the North American form hudsonius, Northern Harrier (or Marsh Hawk).






Hen Harrier, Sheringham (Norfolk, UK), 20th May 2009 - a very late spring migrant








juvnile male Hen Harrier, Sheringham (Norfolk, UK), 29th October 2011

Hen Harrier, Titchwell (Norfolk, UK), 20th March 2009	male Hen Harrier, Thornham (Norfolk, UK), 6th April 2009

Hen Harrier, north of Flitcham (Norfolk, UK), 14th February 2009

Hen Harrier, between Choseley and Docking (Norfolk, UK), 17th January 2009


Hen Harrier, Sheringham (Norfolk, UK), 29th August 2009 - an exceptionally early autumn record



Hen Harrier, Thornham (Norfolk, UK), 21st February 2011





Hen Harrier pursued by Merlin, Burnham Norton (Norfolk, UK), 29th April 2011




Hen Harrier, Thornham (Norfolk, UK), 17th October 2011 - in the feld this looked as orangey as the Northern Harrier below and, given that it shows one or two other features a little bit suggestive of Northern Harrier I cannot at the moment rule out the possibility, unlikely as it is, that this is another Northern Harrier. Hybrid Pallid x Hen Harrier has also been mooted as a possibility but, though the photos are unfortunately not sufficient for a 100% positive ID it is in all probability just a Hen Harrier.

Northern Harrier (Marsh Hawk) Circus (cyaneus) hudsonius

This North American counterpart of our Hen Harrier is now treated by some authors as a separate species. Separation from European Hen Harriers is extremely difficult and, for juveniles at least, any of the characteristics that are indicative of Northern Harrier can sometimes appear on Hen Harrier too. It would, however, be extremely unlikely for a Hen Harrier to show ALL the features of Northern Harrier, and on this basis a small number of Northern Harriers are believed to have occurred in the UK and Ireland. One of these was in Norfolk in 2010 and is shown below, along with a back view of one within their normal range in Canada. Note how the intensity of orange varies according to the light - the same is true of juvenile Hen Harriers.










apparent Northern Harrier, Thornham (Norfolk, UK), 27th November 2010

Northern Harrier, Boundary Bay (British Columbia, Canada), 9th September 2006	apparent Northern Harrier, Thornham (Norfolk, UK), 4th December 2010

You might also be interested in...