The Return Of The Rough-legged Hawks

One of the most pleasant harbingers of winter for me is always the return of the Rough-legged Hawks.  This species breeds in high subarctic and arctic regions so we don’t see them from about March through October but they usually winter around here in good numbers and I love to photograph this handsome buteo.

There’s been a few “roughies” on Antelope Island for a couple of weeks now but this morning was the first time this year I’ve been able to get close enough for good photos.  This bird chose to perch on the same dark rocks that I’ve been photographing Red-tailed Hawks on.

 

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 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in (same techs for all the images in this post)

I wasn’t quite as close as I’d have liked to have been for perched shots so I waited for take-off.  And waited.  And waited.  Almost went to sleep…

 

 

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Finally, a couple of men on horseback were riding the trail behind the rock in the background and I figured they’d spook the bird.  They did.

 

 

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At least I didn’t miss the moment of take-off, which is so easy to do when you have to wait for it for so long.

 

 

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I got five sharp shots after take-off and something unusual happened with each of them.  Normally, you’re lucky to get one image with the bird looking directly at you.  Usually, they’re looking in the direction of flight but for some reason this hawk kept her eyes on me for the entire sequence.  I can’t remember that ever happening before.

I’ll quit jabbering for the rest of the series and simply present the images.

 

 

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And I ended the morning with some good looks at a relatively unusual dark morph Rough-legged Hawk, in flight.  In the western US, dark morphs make up only about 10% of the population so it was exciting to see and photograph this one.

Ron

14 Comments

  1. RON! I have yet to see a dark Roughie! That photo is fantastic. I am teeming with jealousy. Looks like you have made up my mind as far as what to do tomorrow, assuming we get some sun. Beautiful bird. Probably an adult female, but you should ask Jerry to make sure. Thanks for sharing.

  2. What an exciting and rewarding day for you. And your earlier commentators were right – elegant sky dance. Loved these shots as always. Thank you.

  3. It is as if they are dancing in the air. Beautiful!

  4. Hi Ron, Like you, I look forward to the roughies’ return every year. “Ours” (i.e, southern Oregon wintering birds) also arrived a few weeks ago, including a couple of dark morphs. They are beautiful birds, and you have captured that beauty very nicely. Thanks!

  5. wow, all of them are very interesting and great pictures … the last one is incredible, so much detail!

  6. They are so ELEGANT!!!!!

  7. I LOVE these images! I’ve never seen one of these hawks in the wild and hope to have the privilege some day. Some of my very favorite photos of yours are the roughies that we get to see on your alternating header–especially the one looking directly at you. These new ones are a special treat. I’m stuck by the contrasting dark and light underside of the wing of the dark morph. Ron, thanks so much for the great images to start my day!

    • Sharon, thanks for mentioning the header images. I wasn’t sure anybody ever noticed them. And I agree that the contrasting colors on the underside of the dark morph are really eye-catching.

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