Encounter with the Grey Ghost: A Northern Harrier in the Grasslands
In the fall of 2007, I was hired to count the raptor migration along the Eastern Shore of Virginia. My good friend, Joe Medley, was also there working on trapping and banding migrating hawks just down the path from me.
By late November, migration had slowed to a crawl. Those peak days in September and October, when more than a thousand birds might pass overhead, had now dwindled to just a handful. We’d been working at the site since August, and with the season winding down, our thoughts had started drifting toward the long trip home to see our families.
The Monday after Thanksgiving started slowly and never picked up. Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., what’s usually the busiest window in a hawkwatch, I counted just three raptors.
So when Joe got on the radio a little after two and said, “I caught something,” I didn’t think much of it. Maybe he’d caught a Sharp-shinned Hawk I missed, or a Red-tailed from earlier in the day.
A minute later, Joe came out of the woods walking casually, our modified soupcan holder in one hand. I caught sight of a raptor’s tail sticking out of the back.
When he handed it to me, I realized why he was trying to act nonchalant. Inside was an adult male Northern Harrier, the famed “Grey Ghost.” I had never had the privilege to see one in the hand, let alone hold one.
The bird was calm and poised, letting us admire its incredible beauty up close. We took a few photos (including this one), then released him gently back over the grasslands.
As he flew off, disappearing low across the prairie, Joe and I stood there quietly, watching. Cold air, open sky, the quiet rhythm of wings returning to the wind.
That moment has never left me.
Why I Started Pteravia
That day with the Grey Ghost reminded me why I do this work.
Not just to count birds, or even to find them, but to witness them. To stand in the places they return to. To feel a kind of kinship that crosses language and species.
At Pteravia, my goal is to help others find that same connection, whether it’s your first harrier or your hundredth. These moments anchor us. They change us. And they remind us how much we belong to the natural world.
Since the native grasslands and marshes that harriers thrive in have dwindled and dried, their futures are uncertain. The balance of life in the prairie is as dynamic as wind moving through grass. Our choices and actions can help or harm harriers and the many other species that share these open spaces.
I hope we can continue to appreciate how important their presence is, and how much we rely on the same natural world they do.
It’s transformative experiences like these, built from years in the field, that give me a sense of place and a connection to the deeper strata of life. Whether I help you find a Northern Harrier or we end up geeking out over native plants, I love helping people find how they fit into their world.
That’s why I started Pteravia.
👣 Want to Spend Time in the Field?
Now Booking: Outer Banks Birding Tour: May 27 to June 1, 2026
Join me and field ornithologist Sage Church for spring migration, pelagic birding, and the barrier island habitats of North Carolina.