Date: 8/14/26 4:43 pm From: Aaron Jones via groups.io <atj0888...> Subject: [OrangeCountyBirding] Harriers at the old Marine Corps Air Base Tustin?
Good afternoon,
In the past couple of weeks on my commute along Edinger Avenue in Tustin, I have noticed what look like Northern Harriers hunting in the grassy area enclosed by Edinger Avenue, Jamboree Road, Moffett Drive, and Tustin Ranch Road. There are at least two, maybe 3.
I have been meaning to stop by (especially in the early-ish morning and the evening) somewhere and take a better look outside the car and with a pair of binoculars. They look like Northern Harriers (long tail, the wings, the low soaring), but they also hover like kestrels. Do Northern Harriers do this? I've not seen them beat their wings and hover in place like a kestrel, but I don't know of what other similar looking birds do this.
Has anyone observed this patch recently or have any other ideas on what birds, other than Northern Harrier (particularly if this behavour isn't a trait of theirs), they might be? If, and when, I get a chance to take a better look, I'll come back to this topic. I have driven past that patch so many times and there's been an interesting array of species, and I hope to make the most of it in the event it's to be built on.
