It’s February again, and that always brings this male light morph Rough-legged Hawk to my mind. For years, I could count on seeing him at a specific spot along the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge tour route. But now, I no longer live in Utah, and I haven’t seen him since February of 2022.
Adult male light morph Rough-legged Hawk close up
I believe I started photographing this hawk in the fall of 2015. He was almost always in the same area along the north section of the auto tour route, and he was usually a very cooperative bird.
Plenty of other photographers took images of him too and shared them on social media, but for me, he wasn’t just another Rough-legged Hawk—he was the Rough-legged Hawk.
He seemed to spend his nights perched on a sign along the road. There were many times I found him covered in frost, proof that he had roosted there through the long, bitterly cold winter nights.
With a slow, careful approach in my Jeep, I could get close enough to take portraits of him without causing him to take off. I photographed him in soft morning light, in snowstorms, and on frigid days when the air itself seemed to shimmer with cold.
When I was alone, I often talked to him. Sometimes, he would look right at me as if he was listening. I’d meet his beautiful dark eyes and wonder what he thought of me, the female dark-eyed, long-haired human with the camera who always showed up in the winter.
Over the years, I must have taken thousands of images of this hawk, and I don’t regret a single one. We never know when we might move or when we’ll lose the chance to see a bird like this again over so many years.
And I have moved on.
I would have been foolish not to take all the images I did of him. I’m no fool when it comes to birds and bird photography.
I had opportunities to photograph Rough-legged Hawks at the Tallgrass Prairie in Oklahoma at the end of December and on the 1st of January, but none of those images could match the ones I took of him. No other Roughie could, either.
I don’t know what happened to this Rough-legged Hawk, and I never will, but he gave me great memories and wonderful photos.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to view more of my Rough-legged Hawk photos plus facts and information about this species.
Memories!! There used to be a Red-tailed Hawk who would fly along beside your car was you were traveling along the same back road all the time. I haven’t seen him in a few years. I wonder what happened to him.