Rough-legged Hawk at Sheffield
I saw a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk today at Sheffield, along highway #105 which borders the Saint John River at that portion of the highway. The Rough-legged was high above the trees, just a speck really, circling in the sky, but my camera lense was able to pull it in close enough for me to id it. I have seen Rough-legged Hawks there other winters and they were not always as distant as this one was. 
By far my best photo of a Rough-legged is this one, with its wings raised upward showing its distinctive under wing pattern as it landed on a tree branch. This photo was taken in December, 2002 in the Sheffield area.
The under wing pattern of the light 
morph Rough-legged Hawk has more white on it than the dark morph as its axillaries and coverts are light also. To the left is a light morph Rough-legged showing its pale head and chest. The dark morph adult has no white on its head or chest. These photos of the white morph Rough-legged Hawk were taken at Sheffield in December, 2006.
11 comments:
Lucky you - love to such a bird.
That is a beauty! Never saw one before! Thank you for sharing!
Cheers, Klaus
Yes, thanks. Great pictures!
Wonderful action captured! I love those hawks, they have the most gorgeous tail feathers.
You see so many fascinating birds! That hawk is wonderful! I love the last 2 shots. The underwing patterns are very pretty. Not only do you get good photos, but you always know what they are! Even looking at the books, half the time I'm guessing on so many birds.
mary:
Believe me, I sure didn't know when I first started, and I get a lot of lucky pictures, just being there at the right time; but they are fun to share. Glad that you are enjoying them.
I had a hawk come into the yard today which starts the sharpie or coopers debate in my mind. I would love to see this type of hawk...great post Ann..
New Rambling Woods Site
What a beautiful bird! Thanks for sharing Ann.
Amazing bird and great shots. Thanks for the info on it.
:-)
Ann: Those are some neat hawk captures, nicely done.
Another bird I have not ID'd. I saw a big hawk in a tree yesterday but could not pull over in the traffic. Who knows what I missed. Great pictures, thanks for sharing.
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