{"id":27867,"date":"2015-08-30T05:28:20","date_gmt":"2015-08-30T11:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=27867"},"modified":"2025-09-30T14:41:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T19:41:58","slug":"a-rough-legged-hawk-and-thoughts-about-the-upcoming-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/08\/30\/a-rough-legged-hawk-and-thoughts-about-the-upcoming-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Rough-legged Hawk And Thoughts About The Upcoming Winter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Rough-legged Hawk lifting off from a speed limit sign – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 320, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1,4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I came across this image of a male Rough-legged Hawk taken this past February and it caused me to wonder what this upcoming winter will be like.<\/p>\n

Last winter; if you can call it that, was mild and we had very little snow in the Salt Lake Valley, lower than usual snow pack in the mountains and the temperatures were warmer than normal.<\/p>\n

I wonder if the El Ni\u00f1o will send much needed moisture our way or if it will pass us by.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

I only see Rough-legged Hawks here in northern Utah during the coldest months when they come down from the high subarctic and Arctic regions so it isn’t any wonder I think about winter when viewing images of them.<\/p>\n

It might seem odd that I am already thinking about winter when summer hasn’t even finished yet but we really need the snow. We need the water.<\/p>\n

Just one photo can sure make my mind whirl.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to view more of my Rough-legged Hawk photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I came across this image of a male Rough-legged Hawk taken this past February and it caused me to wonder what this upcoming winter will be like.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":158623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,27,1148,1087,26],"tags":[4004,4275,4609,4033,4169,2386,4282,2670,4062,153,1648,4681,12535,373],"class_list":["post-27867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-rough-legged-hawks","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-buteo-lagopus","tag-el-nino","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-lift-off","tag-light-morph","tag-male","tag-raptors","tag-rough-legged-hawk","tag-sign","tag-speed-limit","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-male-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-8999.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-7ft","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":107524,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/10\/25\/rough-legged-hawk-season-has-begun\/","url_meta":{"origin":27867,"position":0},"title":"Rough-legged Hawk Season Has Begun","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Rough-legged Hawk season has begun in northern Utah. I spotted my first of season Rough-legged Hawks on the wing last Friday.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male light morph Rough-legged Hawk on a February morning, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-adult-male-info-sign-mia-mcpherson-9795.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-adult-male-info-sign-mia-mcpherson-9795.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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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.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Rough-legged Hawk staredown, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-stare-down-mia-mcpherson-8178.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-stare-down-mia-mcpherson-8178.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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