Haldimand County. ON. November 12 2022. With some trepidation I drove to a quiet country roadside where another birder said he’d had the lucky sighting of a Short-eared Owl. Trepidation because owls in daytime can attract a lot of unwelcome attention, sometimes amounting to harassment, and I was quite prepared to give it a miss if anything like a crowd seemed to be gathering. But the road was deadly quiet so, when I identified the supposed spot, I pulled to one side and scanned a large hayfield.
It was a field bounded by overgrown hedges and dotted with large hay bales, each about the size of a Fiat. The area had a rather tired, nearly-given-up feel about it, as if the heavy clay soil had proven farming to be a poor investment in time, money and effort. 
I scanned each hay bale but was soon distracted by the sight of a large bird on a far-off fencepost. Not an owl I thought, but what? Maybe a harrier. A minute or two’s study aided by my camera’s zoom and I was sure I was looking at a male Northern Harrier, pale grey-blue above and white below. (That’s my diagnostic photo above – not great quality but it served its purpose.) Moments later a large, low-flying bird to the right turned out to be another Northern Harrier, this time a female, rich brown and chestnut and showing the bright white rump that is distinctive of the species.
This habitat of scattered trees and unkempt fields with secure refuges under hay-bales, was probably thick with voles and mice, and ideal for harriers who hunt by steady, low-level quartering of wide-open spaces.
I was camera-ready for the second harrier and followed its progress around, up and over an old pear tree in the fence line, and then wheeling around to fields behind me.
Another female appeared briefly and I was able to follow her too as she swept low over the field and eventually landed to take stock. That was harrier number three. Was this a family group? How many might there be?
There were a few other birds around: an Eastern Bluebird, a trio of Wild Turkeys and a few scattered flocks of Dark–eyed Juncos. If indeed there had been a Short-eared Owl as reported, then I didn’t see it. But I was thrilled to have the quiet time and space to watch at least three Northern Harriers; My birds of the day.