{"id":50053,"date":"2017-12-23T05:36:26","date_gmt":"2017-12-23T12:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=50053"},"modified":"2025-10-01T10:15:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T15:15:58","slug":"immature-light-morph-rough-legged-hawk-in-flight-landing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/12\/23\/immature-light-morph-rough-legged-hawk-in-flight-landing\/","title":{"rendered":"Immature Light Morph Rough-legged Hawk in Flight & Landing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ImmatureImmature Rough-legged Hawk in flight over a field – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Eight days ago I spent time photographing an immature, light morph Rough-legged Hawk at Farmington Bay WMA<\/span><\/a> in northern Utah. I previously shared four images of this handsome visitor from the far North and thought that today I would share more photos of this bird.<\/p>\n

Prior to these images the young hawk had taken off from a kestrel nest box after prey, it missed the prey and then circled back towards the nest box and I was able to capture a great series of it in flight and as it landed.<\/p>\n

I loved the dorsal view of the Rough-legged Hawk’s wings and flared tail in this photo.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature light morph Rough-legged Hawk flying towards a nest box – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Even while I photographed the hawk in flight I could see that it had it’s eyes on the nest box, was concentrating entirely on it and it completely ignored the three photographers with long lenses that were photographing it as it flew over the field.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Rough-legged Hawk with its eye on its landing spot – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

This young Rough-legged Hawk flew with such ease that even while I photographed it I marveled at the beauty of it’s long wings and the graceful flight of these raptors.<\/p>\n

\"LightLight morph immature Rough-legged Hawk in flight heading towards its perch – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

After I took this photo I decided to pre-focus on the nest box so that I could take photos of the Roughie landing on it so I quickly aimed my lens at the box, focused and started firing when I saw the hawk fly into my view finder.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Rough-legged Hawk landing pose – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

There was one landing image I had shared in my previous post about this Rough-legged Hawk<\/span> that was taken one frame ahead of this one that showed the pin point landing and I felt I wanted to show the frame right after it because I love this landing pose with the upraised wings that I often see when Rough-legged Hawks land.<\/p>\n

I have quite a few more images to share of this particular Rough-legged Hawk and I hope to do that someday soon. This bird really made my day.<\/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":"

Eight days ago I spent time photographing an immature, light morph Rough-legged Hawk at Farmington Bay WMA in northern Utah.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":158760,"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":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1022,697,1087,26],"tags":[2663,4275,1124,4052,4122,4033,4169,4067,4123,2670,4094,2279,153,1648,6299,4095,373],"class_list":["post-50053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-rough-legged-hawks","category-utah","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-lagopus","tag-field","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-immature","tag-landing","tag-light-morph","tag-marsh","tag-nest-box","tag-raptors","tag-rough-legged-hawk","tag-roughie","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-5313.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-d1j","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":108765,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/15\/immature-rough-legged-hawk-staring-prey-and-feaking\/","url_meta":{"origin":50053,"position":0},"title":"Immature Rough-legged Hawk, Staring Prey And Feaking","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I am sharing photos of an immature Rough-legged Hawk, its staring prey, of the bird feaking and a bonus image that shows the tongue of the hawk.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Rough-legged Hawk looking at a staring vole, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-prey-mia-mcpherson-5480.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-prey-mia-mcpherson-5480.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-prey-mia-mcpherson-5480.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-prey-mia-mcpherson-5480.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49925,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/12\/16\/immature-rough-legged-hawk-lift-off-landing-lunch\/","url_meta":{"origin":50053,"position":1},"title":"Immature Rough-legged Hawk – Lift Off, Landing & Lunch","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 16, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I was able to photograph an immature Rough-legged Hawk lifting off, landing and lunching at Farmington Bay WMA in northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Rough-legged Hawk on nest box with lunch, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-lunch-mia-mcpherson-5483.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-lunch-mia-mcpherson-5483.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-lunch-mia-mcpherson-5483.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-lunch-mia-mcpherson-5483.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55136,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/11\/27\/peek-a-boo-rough-legged-hawk-at-farmington-bay-wma\/","url_meta":{"origin":50053,"position":2},"title":"Peek-a-boo Rough-legged Hawk At Farmington Bay WMA","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Why did it make me laugh and smile? Because it looks like the Rough-legged Hawk might have been playing peek-a-boo as it looked towards me through its wingtips.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Peek-a-boo Rough-legged Hawk, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-nest-box-mia-mcpherson-5320.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-nest-box-mia-mcpherson-5320.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-nest-box-mia-mcpherson-5320.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-nest-box-mia-mcpherson-5320.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74760,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/10\/19\/on-the-lookout-for-rough-legged-hawks\/","url_meta":{"origin":50053,"position":3},"title":"On The Lookout For Rough-Legged Hawks","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm hoping that this week I'll be able to spot my first of the season Rough-legged Hawks and that I'll be able to get photos of them too. Fingers are crossed!","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":"Immature Rough-legged Hawk perched on a snow-covered cliff, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-snow-mia-mcpherson-3435.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-snow-mia-mcpherson-3435.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-snow-mia-mcpherson-3435.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-snow-mia-mcpherson-3435.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5263,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/06\/29\/rough-legged-hawk-friday-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":50053,"position":4},"title":"Rough-legged Hawk ~ Friday Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Rough-legged Hawks breed in the Arctic so we don't see them around here in northern Utah during the summer.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rough-legged Hawk on a tree at Farmington Bay WMA, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-mia-mcpherson-3576.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-mia-mcpherson-3576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-mia-mcpherson-3576.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-mia-mcpherson-3576.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10162,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/11\/05\/dorsal-view-of-a-rough-legged-hawk-in-flight\/","url_meta":{"origin":50053,"position":5},"title":"Dorsal View Of A Rough-legged Hawk In Flight","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I woke up 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