Confused Critters

I saw the Northern Harrier twice on Saturday and again on Monday.  Or the bird that I think is a harrier.   I first saw it Sunday morning and really got a good look while she sat in a tree for about 20 minutes. And I got a good size comparison as the crows dive-bombed her a few times! She is bigger than a crow, but not a lot larger.  I'm pretty sure it was the female I saw each time; she had the white eye stripes above and below her eyes and white breast with brown streaks.  Then I saw her later at almost dusk on a telephone pole next to my neighbors' house, then she went back to the tree, and then flew right toward me as I was looking at her through the binoculars and landed on the telephone pole next to MY house.  Then Monday I saw her sitting on a telephone wire, and then she flew to the tree in my yard.  I got a few photos - a few on Sunday although it was raining and the light was fading - I seem to see it the most when the weather's bad.  But it was midday on Monday and the sun was peaking through the clouds.

The National Audubon Society bird book I have says that they 'seldom watch quietly from an exposed perch, as do other birds of prey'.  And when do I always see it?  When it's sitting on an exposed perch, of course.  If it is a harrier, it definitely has UN-harrier-like behavior.  She looks very similar to the photo that's in the book and others I've seen on the internet.  Plus it's also known as the marsh hawk, and I know there may be some sort of marshy area near my house (probably over near the river in the back of the park that's next to my house) because I've had red-winged blackbirds come to my suet.  But then It may not be a harrier at all, so I may be the one that's confused.  Whatever it is, I'm fascinated by it.

And we're not the only ones in a state of confusion.  Possums are supposed to be nocturnal, but this guy (or gal) showed up at 1:30 on a sunny Sunday afternoon .  Could be its figured out that the food some folks put out for the feral cats disappears before dark.

 Or then again maybe it's something in the water!