Germany, Hamburg: Dark-ish Harrier - Male Marsh Harrier? (1 Viewer)

H

Hauksen

Forum member

• Apr 25, 2018

• #1

Hi,

I'd appreciate your help with the identification of the harrier on the photos I posted in this thread:

https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=360478

(I guess it would have been more appropriate to post it here right away, but that only occurred to me when I had already posted in the "Local Patch" sub-subforum ... my apologies!)

They were taken near Hamburg, Germany, on 22 April 2018.

The bird in question was hunting in typical harrier style in low and slow flight, occassionally dropping into the grass, talons extended.

I also saw a female Marsh Harrier nearby, which seemed to ignore the bird in question.

Regards,

Henning

 

Richard Prior

Halfway up an Alp

• Apr 25, 2018

• #2

To me it looks fine for an adult (or perhaps 3rd year?) male Marsh Harrier Henning.

 

tconzemi

Tom

Supporter

• Apr 25, 2018

• #3

they are quite variable and this is a darker one, still very far from melanistic

 

H

Hauksen

Forum member

• Apr 26, 2018

• #4

Hi Richard,

Richard Prior said:

To me it looks fine for an adult (or perhaps 3rd year?) male Marsh Harrier Henning.

Click to expand...

Thank you very much!

Svensson doesn't have much information on aging, and shows the underside of the juvenile only ... so it appears the upper side tends to be a little darker until full adult plumage develops?

Regards,

Henning

 

H

Hauksen

Forum member

• Apr 26, 2018

• #5

Hi Tom,

tconzemi said:

they are quite variable and this is a darker one, still very far from melanistic

Click to expand...

Thanks, that's good to know! I'll pay more attention to these variations in the future

I was a bit confused about this bird, as the dark-ish colour was not restricted to the camera picture but also showed well when looking through the scope or binoculars. Great to hear the effect is real and not just imagined!

Regards,

Henning

 

tconzemi

Tom

Supporter

• Apr 26, 2018

• #6

to get completely confused, try this paper
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236029230_Plumage_variability_in_Marsh_Harriers

 

H

Hauksen

Forum member

• Apr 26, 2018

• #7

Hi Tom,

tconzemi said:

to get completely confused, try this paper
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236029230_Plumage_variability_in_Marsh_Harriers

Click to expand...

That's a very interesting article, thanks a lot for sharing the link!

It would make sense that the variability might differ between the French sedentary population and the German migratory population, as the authors point out.

Their point on atypical variations not necessarily recognized by observers looking for "field-guide typical" birds is excellent, too. Quite possible I might have seen atypical Marsh Harriers too, and filed them mentally as "raptor, unidentified" because I couldn't make out any field marks.

Regards,

Henning