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Spotted Harrier

(Circus assimilis)
Alternative names: "Spotted Swamp-hawk", "Jardine's Harrier"
Size: 5-=60 cm; wing span 1.2-1.45 m

Habitat
(for details refer to a field guide)

Spotted Harriers are found everywhere on the Australian continent, with the exception of Tasmania. In particular, they are well-adapted to the harsh conditions of the arid and semi-arid centre of the continent.

Spotted Harriers hunt in high grass and crops. They are therefore often found around paddocks and fields. They are also well-adapted to life in semi-arid and arid environments, hunting in more open country.

Sightings

We have first seen a Spotted Harrier in March of 2006 skirting the edge of bushland and then hovering low above open grassland in search of prey. Seen regularly, but infrequently, in the Narrabri region in the years since 2006.

A Spotted Harrier was a temporary resident 20 km east of Narrabri, seen repeatedly in the timeframe March-June 2007. Later, in November 2007, an immature bird moved into the area. The next sighting of an adult bird was in late February 2009.

An adult bird was spotted by us at Goran Lake, an ephemeral lake about 30 km south of Gunnedah, NSW, in September 2011.

Photos

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Distant dorsal view of an adult Spotted Harrier

Frontal view of an adult Spotted Harrier in flight

Back of an adult Spotted Harrier in flight

Lateral view of an immature Spotted Harrier

Head partly turned

Head now completely turned; note the similarity with an owl's "face", an adaption to optimize forward localisation of sound made by prey

The same bird as above, now before a little skinny-dip in our mini-pond...

... and here after the bath, shaking off water

Habits

The immature bird shown above was not afraid to let a human approach to a minimum distance of about 12 metres, before slowly gliding away. Also its hunting skills were not yet up to par, with regular unsuccessful meandering walks through high grass.

Food

All raptors are carnivores. Spotted Harriers prey on small animals, such as reptiles, small mammals and ground birds.