Boy, these are some absolutely gorgeous raptors. Ferruginous hawks are North America’s largest hawk and get their name from their rusty (ferruginous) shoulders and legs. The light morph ones, like this one, throw in some awesome gray accents and brilliant white underwings and bellies.
Here in Colorado, they are most often spotted during the winter when their numbers grow and they seem to outnumber the ubiquitous red-tailed hawk. This past weekend I saw dozens of them in various locations.
This was one of two that chose to share a perch on a power pole but were not so keen on being photographed. That worked out okay as I was able to nab some nice fight shots.