Buteo lagopus – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Rough-legged Hawk On A No Swimming Sign

By Mia McPherson|January 24th, 2024|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Davis County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, causeway, Davis County, hawk, hawks, humor, immature, mountains, No Swimming sign, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sign, snow, snowy, sub-adult, Wasatch Mountains, winter|

While looking for a photo to share this morning I found this immature Rough-legged Hawk on a No Swimming Sign with the snowy Wasatch Mountains in the background.

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I Am Missing This Cooperative Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|January 9th, 2024|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, dawn, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, marsh, missing, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, wetlands, winter|

Once upon a time, and not so long ago, I could count on seeing this light-morph Rough-legged Hawk at a specific area of the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge tour route.

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Rough-legged Hawk In Dense Fog

By Mia McPherson|December 19th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, dense, fall, fog, foggy, frost, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, marsh, perched, raptor, Rough-legged Hawk, snow, wetlands|

Some bird photographers might not share a photo like this Rough-legged Hawk in dense fog that I took two years ago today at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Wings Over People: My Love for Bird Photography

By Mia McPherson|March 2nd, 2023|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ring-billed Gulls, Rough-legged Hawks, Salt Lake County, San Juan County, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, American Robin, bird photography, Buteo lagopus, Larus delawarensis, Ring-billed Gull, Rough-legged Hawk, Turdus migratorius|

This could also be titled "Why I prefer to bird photography over people photography" and I will explain why this morning.

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Driftwood Guardian: Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|February 6th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, driftwood, frosty, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, male, perched, ranchlands, raptors, river, Rough-legged Hawk, snag, snow, wetlands, winter|

I stopped to take photos of an adult male Rough-legged Hawk perched on a driftwood snag over the Bear River when I was leaving Bear River MBR four days ago.

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Rough-legged Hawk Staredown

By Mia McPherson|January 11th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, cold, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, marsh, mountains, perched, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sign, sky, snow, staredown, wetlands, winter|

One year ago this morning I was on the road to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge where my best subject of the day was a male light morph Rough-legged Hawk.

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Immature Rough-legged Hawk, Staring Prey And Feaking

By Mia McPherson|December 15th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: autumn, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, Davis County, fall, feaking, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, landing, light morph, looking, marsh, nest box, prey, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, staring, vole, wetlands, young|

This morning I am sharing photos of an immature Rough-legged Hawk, its staring prey, of the bird feaking and a bonus image that shows the tongue of the hawk.

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Rough-legged Hawk Season Has Begun

By Mia McPherson|October 25th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, back view, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, frost, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, marsh, perched, portrait, raptors, refuge information sign, Rough-legged Hawk, wetlands, winter|

Rough-legged Hawk season has begun in northern Utah. I spotted my first of season Rough-legged Hawks on the wing last Friday.

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Immature Rough-legged Hawk Perched On A Tumbleweed

By Mia McPherson|February 20th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, marsh, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sub-adult, subadult, tumbleweed, wetlands, winter, young|

I was delighted to spot, point out, and photograph this immature light morph Rough-legged Hawk that was perched on a tumbleweed at Bear River MBR yesterday morning.

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I Am Going To Miss This Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|February 13th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, information sign, light morph, male, marsh, morning, one way sign, parking sign, perched, raptors, refuge, Rough-legged Hawk, sign, Utah, wetlands, winter|

Last week I photographed this male Rough-legged Hawk on Monday and Thursday while at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Yawning Immature Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|February 10th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, immature, light morph, marker, marsh, perched, plastic post, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sub-adult, subadult, Utah, wetlands, winter, yawn, yawning, young|

This is the same immature light morph Rough-legged Hawk that I shared portraits of two days ago that were taken at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Immature Light Morph Rough-legged Hawk Portraits

By Mia McPherson|February 8th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, frost, frosty, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, light morph, marsh, perched, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, subadult, wetlands, winter, young|

I had five minutes of bird bliss yesterday morning at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I was able to take immature light morph Rough-legged Hawk portraits.

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Light Morph Male Rough-legged Hawk Winter Site Fidelity

By Mia McPherson|February 5th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, birds of prey, Box Elder County, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, marsh, one way sign, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sign, site fidelity, territorial site fidelity, Utah, wetlands, winter|

I have been photographing a light morph male Rough-legged Hawk on or near a One Way sign at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge frequently this winter.

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Rough-legged Hawk In Soft Morning Light

By Mia McPherson|February 3rd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, frost, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, marsh, morning light, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, soft, subadult, wetland, winter, wooden post, young|

Last month while enjoying one of the most relaxing trips I have had to Bear River MBR in a long time I came across this Rough-legged Hawk in soft morning light.

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Adult Male Rough-legged Hawk In Early Morning Light

By Mia McPherson|January 30th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, desert, early morning light, field, flats, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, low light, male, perched, pre-dawn light, predawn, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, winter|

Of all the photos I took yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge the one I liked the most is of this Rough-legged Hawk in early morning light.

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Light Morph Adult Male Rough-legged Hawk In The Wasatch Mountains

By Mia McPherson|January 18th, 2022|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks|Tags: adult, birds of prey, blue sky, branches, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, leaf buds, light morph, male, mountains, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, snow, snowy, tree, Wasatch Mountains, winter|

Yesterday I photographed a light morph adult male Rough-legged Hawk perched in a tree in the Wasatch Mountains.

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Adult Male Rough-legged Hawk Portraits

By Mia McPherson|January 12th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, dawn, funny, goofy, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, head on, left, light morph, male, marsh, portrait, raptors, right, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, wetlands, winter|

For eleven minutes yesterday morning this Rough-legged Hawk was my main point of focus as I took hundreds of photos of him at Bear River MBR.

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One Very Cooperative Male Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|January 3rd, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, blue sky, Box Elder County, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, frost, frosted, frosty, hawk, hawks, light morph, male, marsh, perched, plastic marker, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, stretching, Tamarisk, tree, Utah, wetlands, wings, winter|

For the second year in a row the first bird I photographed in the New Year was a Rough-legged Hawk and both were photographed at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Male Rough-legged Hawk – The First Bird I Photographed in 2021

By Mia McPherson|December 30th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, close up, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, male, marsh, portrait, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, wetlands, winter|

The first bird I photographed in 2021 was this adult male Rough-legged Hawk perched above the wetlands at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

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Christmas Day Birds 2021

By Mia McPherson|December 26th, 2021|Categories: American Coots, Birds, California Gulls, Common Goldeneyes, Great Blue Herons, Great-tailed Grackles, Mallards, Rough-legged Hawks|Tags: adult, American Coot, Anas platyrhynchos, Ardea herodias, breeding plumage, Bucephala clangula, Buteo lagopus, California Gull, calling, Christmas, Christmas Day, close up, Common Goldeneye, coot, coots, crawdad, crayfish, dabbling ducks, diving ducks, drake, duck, ducks, eating, female, first winter, flight, flying, foraging, Fulica americana, goldeneye, goldeneyes, grackle, grackles, grass, gray sky, Great Blue Heron, Great-tailed Grackle, gull, gulls, hawk, hawks, heron, herons, hovering, Icterids, immature, Larus californicus, low light, male, Mallard, mallards, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, open bill, pond, portrait, Quiscalus mexicanus, rails, Rough-legged Hawk, splashing, urban, wading birds, water, water droplets, wetlands, winter, young|

I did get out to find and photograph birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA and then later in the morning I found more closer to home.

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Male Rough-legged Hawk On A National Wildlife Refuge Sign

By Mia McPherson|December 17th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, fall, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, high key, low light, male, National Wildlife Refuge, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sign|

Nine days ago this Rough-legged Hawk resting on a National Wildlife sign in low light was the first hawk I spotted and photographed.

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Late Clark’s Grebe Plus A Rough-legged Hawk On A One Way Sign

By Mia McPherson|December 9th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Clark's Grebes, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, Aechmophorus clarkii, autumn, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, Clark's Grebe, fall, grebe, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, late, late migrant, light morph, male, marsh, one way sign, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sign, water, wetlands|

Yesterday I found and pointed out a few birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge including a very late Clark's Grebe I spotted from the auto tour route.

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Adult Rough-legged Hawk Calling Plus Photos Of A Younger Roughie

By Mia McPherson|December 6th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, autumn, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, calling, fall, hawk, hawks, immature, light morph, male, marsh, mountains, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, shrub, Utah, wetlands, young|

Yesterday I heard a male Rough-legged Hawk calling which is highly unusual away from their breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra and taiga of the far north.

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How I Found My First Of Season Rough-legged Hawks

By Mia McPherson|November 6th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Common Ravens, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, autumn, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, Common Raven, Corvus corax, fall, female, first of year, foothills, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, male, prey, raptors, raven, ravens, Rough-legged Hawk, sighting, Tooele County, Utah, west desert|

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.

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On The Lookout For My First Of Season Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|October 13th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, barb wire, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, fence, fence post, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, mountains, perched, raptors, road, rock, rock pile, rocks, Rough-legged Hawk, snow, winter|

I am now on the lookout for my first of season Rough-legged Hawk. I hope to spot one soon.

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West Desert Male Rough-legged Hawk

By Mia McPherson|March 3rd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, alert, birds of prey, boulder, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, fence post, flight, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, lichen, lift off, lifting off, male, perched, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, take off, wooden post|

Yesterday morning was clear, bright, chilly, and I spent ten minutes photographing an adult male Rough-legged Hawk that I found in the West Desert.

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Male Rough-legged Hawk Photos

By Mia McPherson|February 26th, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, background, birds of prey, blue sky, Buteo lagopus, Buteo regalis, Buteos, Ferruginous Hawk, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, light morph, male, mountains, raptors, rock, rocks, Rough-legged Hawk, shadows, sky, snow, snow covered, snowy|

Earlier this week I photographed a light morph, adult male Rough-legged Hawk in the West Desert of Utah with three different backgrounds.

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Ferruginous And Rough-legged Hawk Lift Off Photos

By Mia McPherson|February 22nd, 2021|Categories: Birds, Ferruginous Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteo regalis, Buteos, feathered legs, feathered tarsi, feet, Ferruginous Hawk, first winter, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, immature, legs, lift off, lifting off, light morph, male, power pole, raptors, rock, rocks, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, take off, taking off, young|

Yesterday morning I was able to take Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawk lift off photos where both of the raptors still had their feet on their perches.

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My First Rough-legged Hawk of 2021

By Mia McPherson|January 8th, 2021|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, East Canyon, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, male, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, sky, winter|

Two days ago I photographed my first Rough-legged Hawk of 2021 at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Or was it two?

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Focusing On Adult Male Rough-legged Hawks

By Mia McPherson|November 27th, 2020|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Rough-legged Hawks, Utah|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo lagopus, Buteos, clouds, flight, flying, hawk, hawks, Hawks of Utah, high key, male, marsh, perched, raptor, raptors, Rough-legged Hawk, Russian Olive, sky, stump, tree, winter|

Ten days ago I found and photographed this adult male Rough-legged Hawk as it perched on a Russian Olive tree at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I was heading home.

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