How I Found My First Of Season Rough-legged Hawks

Adult Rough-legged Hawks with prey plus a Common Raven – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

The story behind how I found not one but three Rough-legged Hawks yesterday is one I won’t soon forget. I was feeling as if I was going to go home without any decent images of any birds because the bird activity had been slow. My phone rang and it was my dear friend Billy Fenimore. We were talking when I spotted a hawk on the ground from a very long distance. I shouted “Stop” and at that point I thought the hawk was a Ferruginous Hawk that I had seen in the area earlier in the morning. It was the hawk I expected.

By the time I hung up my phone, got my lens focused on the bird, and pointed it out to my friend Ron I could see that it was an adult male, light morph Rough-legged Hawk.

My first of season sighting of this species! I “whooped” with joy because I have been expecting the arrival of these arctic breeding raptors that overwinter here in northern Utah and other locations.

What I didn’t know was that something fascinating was about to unfold. The adult male, light morph Rough-legged Hawk had prey and I could see that he was attempting to eat it. Then my peripheral vision caught movement beyond my viewfinder and I spotted a second Rough-legged Hawk flying directly towards the male on the ground. When that hawk landed they had a scuffle and the adult female ended up on the prey. I figured she would eat the prey and the two Rough-legged Hawks would fly off.

But again I spotted another bird flying in. It was a Common Raven. A very gutsy Common Raven that proceeded to try to swipe the prey from the female Rough-legged Hawk.

This photo shows the adult male on the left side, the female Rough-legged lifting off with her stolen prey in her left talon and the Common Raven lifting off because the female was flying directly towards it. I took a bunch of documentary photos of the action but decided to use this one to illustrate my story. This is a huge crop from the original file because all three of these birds were so far away.

After this image was taken another Common Raven flew in and they both chased the female Rough-legged Hawk in the air until they disappeared from my sight. I think those ravens must have been very hungry to mess with not one but two Rough-legged Hawks.

It was a very memorable first of year sighting of these Rough-legged Hawks. The kind where you sit there wondering if you really saw what you saw.

Later in the morning I spotted a third Rough-legged Hawk perched on a juniper but I wasn’t able to get images of it. You have to get to the birds before they lift off to photograph them and that didn’t happen with that Roughie. That sighting wasn’t as dramatic but I could see that it was another light morph adult male and I was delighted to see him.

My Rough-legged Hawk season in northern Utah is on!

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to view more of my Rough-legged Hawk photos plus facts and information about this species. Click here to see more of my Common Raven photos plus facts and information about this species.