Northern Harrier, also known as the Marsh Hawk.

This feather belongs to an elegant, slender raptor with a distinctive white rump patch. Northern Harriers are unique hawks that hunt by sound as well as sight, utilizing an owl-like facial disk. The warm buff tones of this feather indicate it came from a female or an immature bird.

Base color is a warm cream to ochre-buff. It is marked with fine, dark brown 'peppered' mottling or speckling concentrated on the outer edges and toward the tip, rather than distinct bars.

Pennaceous (interlocked) in the distal two-thirds with a soft, fuzzy plumulaceous (downy) base for insulation. Barbs are generally intact with minor fraying at the tip.

Smooth and soft to the touch with a matte finish. It lacks the oily sheen of waterfowl or the stiffness of primary flight feathers.

Warm ochre-buff base color with fine, irregular dark brown speckling (not solid bars) and a significant downy portion at the base.

Open wetlands, salt marshes (common in Boothbay), grasslands, and prairies. Known for hunting low over marshes.

Breeds across North America, including Maine; northern populations are migratory, wintering as far south as Central America.

High-level predator that controls rodent and small bird populations. They serve as an indicator species for the health of wetland ecosystems.

Cooper's Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk (feathers usually have distinct horizontal bars); Red-tailed Hawk (usually has larger, droplet-shaped streaks).

Northern Harriers are the only 'harrier' species in North America. They are polygynous, meaning one male may provide food for up to five females in a single season.

Good condition. There is slight wear and separation of the barbs near the tip, suggesting it may have been molted naturally at the end of a season.

Boothbay Maine