A reel of a harvester including a cutter bar includes a plurality of reel bats which are pivotal so as to vary the angle of the fingers about the bat axis as the reel rotates and an end shield plate mounted on the reel at the end of the reel. The end plate has a peripheral edge located radially inward of an outer tip of the fingers with an apex at each of the bats and portions which are recessed from a straight line joining the apexes to allow rotation of the finger around the bat axis without contacting the peripheral edge. Each of the endmost fingers of the bats has a base which is axially inside the end plate and is bent longitudinally of the reel to define an outer tip which is axially spaced from the base to a position beyond the radial plane of the end plate.
