Finally! I have been watching and waiting for these Arctic visitors and this past weekend I finally saw my first (three) of the season. It seems like the sightings came later than normal but I am glad they are here as they are way cool and beautiful hawks.
None really wanted to cooperate with me which is a bit unusual as historically I have found them to be pretty cooperative. This was the best capture of the bunch, a departing shot, but I liked how it turned its head enough to catch the glint in its eye.
Rough-legged hawks spend their summers in the Arctic where they mate and then spend winters in southern Canada and the lower 48. One of their most notable features is that their legs are feathered all the way down to the toes, one of only three American raptors like that. The other two being the Ferruginous Hawk and the Golden Eagle.
