{"id":65878,"date":"2020-02-29T06:10:18","date_gmt":"2020-02-29T13:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=65878"},"modified":"2025-10-01T13:35:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T18:35:56","slug":"rough-legged-hawks-will-be-leaving-swainsons-hawks-will-arrive-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/02\/29\/rough-legged-hawks-will-be-leaving-swainsons-hawks-will-arrive-soon\/","title":{"rendered":"Rough-legged Hawks Will Be Leaving – Swainson’s Hawks Will Arrive Soon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rough-leggedRough-legged Hawk resting on a sign – Nikon D500, f9, 1\/400, ISO 250, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

It is almost time for me to see a seasonal switch of raptors here in northern Utah because the Rough-legged Hawks will be leaving and the Swainson’s Hawks will arrive soon.<\/p>\n

The Rough-legged Hawks that have overwintered here will spread their wings and make their way to the Arctic tundra to find their mates, build their nests, lay their eggs and rear their young.<\/p>\n

I photographed this adult Rough-legged Hawk last week at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> early in the morning as it rested on one of the signs next to the auto tour route.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t the prettiest setting but I wondered while I took photos of this light morph Rough-legged Hawk if it might be the last one I saw and photographed this winter.<\/p>\n

I’ve seen a few more Rough-legged Hawks since then but their numbers do seem to be dwindling now.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Swainson’s Hawk on a rusty, metal post – Nikon D500, f9, 1\/1250, ISO 320, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Most Swainson’s Hawks have overwintered in South America but they will soon follow their natural instincts, take flight and head north to to find their mates, build their nests, lay their eggs, and rear their young too.<\/p>\n

Some of them will stop here in northern Utah to do just that.<\/p>\n

I photographed this adult Swainson’s Hawk in Box Elder County in May of 2017. It was a cooperative subject but after a few minutes of photographing it perched on the rusty, metal pole.<\/p>\n

I thanked the hawk and headed home since the sun was already almost too high.<\/p>\n

A photo I would love to take is where there would be a Rough-legged Hawk perched close enough to a Swainson’s Hawk that I could take images of them side by side.<\/p>\n

That may never happen, nevertheless I’m always and forever an optimist.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Rough-legged Hawk photos plus facts and information about this species. Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Swainson\u2019s Hawk photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is almost time for me to see a seasonal switch of raptors here in northern Utah because the Rough-legged Hawks will leaving and the Swainson’s will arrive soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":158831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[124,27,1148,1087,206,26],"tags":[4004,9081,4275,4200,2497,4033,4169,2386,5045,9080,2670,4062,6613,530,4378,4104,153,1648,5668,4681,6397,4034,9079],"class_list":["post-65878","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-swainson-hawks","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-arrive","tag-buteo-lagopus","tag-buteo-swainsoni","tag-buteos","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-intermediate-morph","tag-leaving","tag-light-morph","tag-male","tag-metal-post","tag-migration","tag-morning","tag-perched","tag-raptors","tag-rough-legged-hawk","tag-rusty","tag-sign","tag-spring-migration","tag-swainsons-hawk","tag-wooden-sign"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-sign-mia-mcpherson-2914.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-h8y","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42229,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/09\/25\/farewell-to-the-swainsons-hawks-im-looking-forward-to-rough-legged-hawks\/","url_meta":{"origin":65878,"position":0},"title":"Farewell To The Swainson’s Hawks – I’m Looking Forward To Rough-legged Hawks","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Even though I am saying a fond farewell to the Swainson's Hawks I'm also looking forward to Rough-legged Hawks gracing my life for another season.","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":"Eye level Rough-legged Hawk in flight, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/rough-legged-hawk-gliding-mia-mcpherson-9388.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-gliding-mia-mcpherson-9388.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ferruginous Hawk showing its feathered legs (tarsi), West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/ferruginous-hawk-flight-mia-mcpherson-4949.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/ferruginous-hawk-flight-mia-mcpherson-4949.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/ferruginous-hawk-flight-mia-mcpherson-4949.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/ferruginous-hawk-flight-mia-mcpherson-4949.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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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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Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-tailed Hawk juvenile and an intense stare, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-5148.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-5148.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-5148.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-5148.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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McPherson","date":"February 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I was delighted to spot, point out, and photograph this immature light morph Rough-legged Hawk that was perched on a tumbleweed at Bear River MBR yesterday morning.","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":"Immature light morph Rough-legged Hawk perched on a tumbleweed, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-tumbleweed-mia-mcpherson-4666.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-immature-tumbleweed-mia-mcpherson-4666.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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