{"id":4535,"date":"2012-02-26T06:31:49","date_gmt":"2012-02-26T13:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=4535"},"modified":"2025-09-29T15:04:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T20:04:16","slug":"rough-legged-hawks-is-it-time-to-say-goodbye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/02\/26\/rough-legged-hawks-is-it-time-to-say-goodbye\/","title":{"rendered":"Rough-legged Hawks – Is It Time To Say Goodbye?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rough-leggedRough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) keeping an eye on the sky –\u00a0 Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/320, ISO 640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or set up<\/span><\/p>\n

I have had such amazing experiences with Rough-legged Hawks this winter. I’ve captured them in flight, preening, eating, hovering, kiting, resting, and so much more.<\/p>\n

During my peak observations I was seeing 20+ while out in the field but their numbers have been dropping fast the past few weeks. Now I might see one for the whole day.<\/p>\n

I’ve been able to get close to the Rough-legged Hawks and learn more about them by observing their behavior, watching their movements and to savor their beautiful plumage colors and patterns. The hawk above was watching something in the sky.<\/p>\n

\"Rough-legged\u00a0Rough-legged Hawk giving me the eye while flying by –\u00a0 Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or set up<\/span><\/p>\n

This Rough-legged Hawk gave me an up close and personal fly by. They have gorgeous eyes.<\/p>\n

\"Rough-leggedRough-legged Hawk with tail spread while preening –\u00a0Nikon D300, f9, 1\/640, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or set up<\/span><\/p>\n

I have been fortunate to see and photograph them while preening in wonderful light.<\/p>\n

\"Rough-leggedRough-legged Hawk gaining altitude –\u00a0Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/2500, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 285mm, natural light, not baited or set up<\/span><\/p>\n

I have watched them lift off with those long, powerful wings to soar in the sky. I’ve learned a lot about these beautiful raptors this winter and I’ll miss them this summer.<\/p>\n

It does appear that the\u00a0Rough-legged Hawks are making their way back to their breeding grounds high in the Arctic Circle. I hope that they have another great nesting season and that I will see them again this coming winter. They have been such a joy.<\/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 have had such amazing experiences with Rough-legged Hawks this winter. I’ve captured them in flight, preening, eating, hovering, kiting, resting and so much more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":158548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[511,27,1022,1087,26],"tags":[2663,4275,2497,4052,4122,4169,4282,2670,519,4019,153,1648],"class_list":["post-4535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-rough-legged-hawks","category-utah","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-lagopus","tag-buteos","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-hawks","tag-lift-off","tag-light-morph","tag-nature","tag-preening-2","tag-raptors","tag-rough-legged-hawk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-preening-mia-mcpherson-1544.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1b9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17191,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/11\/22\/winter-wanderers-rough-legged-hawks\/","url_meta":{"origin":4535,"position":0},"title":"Winter Wanderers – Rough-legged Hawks","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I have started seeing Rough-legged Hawks again in northern Utah and that has me excited. I have seen them in Utah County and Davis County but I haven't gotten any quality photos of them yet","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Winter Wanderers \u2013 Rough-legged Hawks, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-preening-mia-mcpherson-1705.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-preening-mia-mcpherson-1705.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-preening-mia-mcpherson-1705.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-dorsal-view-mia-mcpherson-7244.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-dorsal-view-mia-mcpherson-7244.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-dorsal-view-mia-mcpherson-7244.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120091,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/24\/rough-legged-hawk-on-a-no-swimming-sign\/","url_meta":{"origin":4535,"position":2},"title":"Rough-legged Hawk On A No Swimming Sign","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rough-legged Hawk on a No Swimming sign on the causeway to Antelope Island, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Rough-legged-Hawk-no-swimming-sign-ma-mcpheerson-9223.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Rough-legged-Hawk-no-swimming-sign-ma-mcpheerson-9223.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Rough-legged-Hawk-no-swimming-sign-ma-mcpheerson-9223.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Rough-legged-Hawk-no-swimming-sign-ma-mcpheerson-9223.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110057,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/02\/06\/driftwood-guardian-rough-legged-hawk\/","url_meta":{"origin":4535,"position":3},"title":"Driftwood Guardian: Rough-legged Hawk","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","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":"Adult Rough-legged Hawk perched over the Bear River, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-1751.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-1751.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-1751.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-1751.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3766,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/11\/30\/a-rough-legged-hawk-preening\/","url_meta":{"origin":4535,"position":4},"title":"Cooperative Rough-legged Hawk Preening","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 30, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week though I had the opportunity to photograph a very cooperative Rough-legged Hawk preening.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rough-legged Hawk preening with tip of tail in the bill, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-preening-mia-mcpherson-1585.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-preening-mia-mcpherson-1585.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-preening-mia-mcpherson-1585.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107524,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/10\/25\/rough-legged-hawk-season-has-begun\/","url_meta":{"origin":4535,"position":5},"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, 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=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}