The Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) is a widespread but locally distributed breeder in North America, ranging from Alaska across Canada to central Quebec and southern Newfoundland, south to Baja California, northern Texas, and Virginia (excluding many eastern states; MacWhirter and Bildstein 1996). It nests primarily in grassy marshes, both salt and fresh, wet prairie with tall grasses, in areas intermixed with woody growth, and also in agricultural areas(MacWhirter and Bildstein 1996, American Ornithologists' Union 1998).