{"id":77480,"date":"2021-01-08T05:52:32","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T12:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=77480"},"modified":"2025-10-01T15:07:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T20:07:06","slug":"my-first-rough-legged-hawk-of-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/01\/08\/my-first-rough-legged-hawk-of-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"My First Rough-legged Hawk of 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rough-leggedRough-legged Hawk portrait on a frosted perch \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Two days ago I photographed my first Rough-legged Hawk of 2021 at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a>. Or was it two? I’ll explain why it might be two different birds in a bit but first the beginning of the story behind these images.<\/p>\n

My morning started out with me wanting to head out into the West Desert but due to circumstances beyond my control I couldn’t. I was dressed, ready to go and quickly decided to head north to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge instead.<\/p>\n

As I drove north on I-15 I wondered what bird species I would photograph first. It was my first trip out into the field in the new year and although the first bird species I photographed in the new year was a European Starling<\/span><\/a> that was done with a cell phone. These are the first photos taken with my bird gear this year.<\/p>\n

The first bird I had an opportunity to photograph was a Rough-legged Hawk near the beginning of the auto tour route at the refuge. That hawk took off before I could grab my camera and flew slightly south and landed where I couldn’t get a decent light angle so I let it go. As I got ready to head out into the marshes on the auto tour route I saw another Rough-legged Hawk and slowly backed up to where I could take photos if it.<\/p>\n

Covered in a light frost the hawk was so close to the road that with my teleconverter on I opted to take portraits of it first.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Rough-legged Hawk on a frosty morning \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Once I removed my teleconverter I was able to take frame filling, fully body images of the Rough-legged Hawk. As he warmed up in the morning sun he fluffed and preened a bit.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Rough-legged Hawk after rousing \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

And he shook the frost off of his back and neck. He really didn’t seem interested in going out to find breakfast so after taking a few more portraits of him I thanked him and headed onto the auto tour route. The time was 8:52 am.<\/p>\n

On the auto tour route I photographed gulls, herons, ducks, eagles, harriers, larks, and a raven from the warmth of my Jeep. The lowest temp I saw that morning was 8\u00b0F. It was sunny, peaceful, and I was in no hurry.<\/p>\n

\"Rough-leggedRough-legged Hawk with his eye on something \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

When I neared the end of the auto tour route I contemplated making the loop again. Then I saw a hawk on the same perch as the Rough-legged Hawk I photographed earlier and stopped to take photos of it from a different angle. Just seconds after taking this photo the hawk lifted off and flew out into a field after prey but he missed and landed in a tree that I could see in my side view mirror. The time was 10:37 am.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Rough-legged Hawk perched on a thin branch \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

By backing up slowly on the snow and ice encrusted dirt road I was able to take more photos of the handsome Rough-legged Hawk. As I watched him through my viewfinder I could tell that he was scanning the open marsh for prey.<\/p>\n

When he finally lifted off though he head directly back to the perch at the end of the auto tour route. He did have a higher vantage point from it.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Rough-legged Hawk close up \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

As I approached him again I decided to put my teleconverter back on so I could take a few more portraits of him before heading towards home.<\/p>\n

When I got home and compared photos of my first session with the frosty hawk to the images of the hawk I photographed on my way out of the auto tour route I saw that the chest of the second bird had an area of light plumage on his chest that was definitely wider that it appeared to be on the first hawk I photographed that morning.<\/p>\n

So now I am not certain whether I photographed the same Rough-legged Hawk<\/span><\/a> twice or if they were two individual birds that were using the same perch. A more alert posture could have made that band of light colored plumage look wider.<\/p>\n

\"Rough-legged<\/p>\n

I’m not 100% convinced but I believe that it was the same hawk both times because of I see the same pattern in the one feather I have circled in red in the photo above in both portraits of the bird.<\/p>\n

Whether it was one hawk or two I know that I enjoyed my time with him. Or them.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Two days ago I photographed my first Rough-legged Hawk of 2021 at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Or was it two?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":158868,"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":[124,27,1148,5921,1087,26],"tags":[4004,2663,4275,2497,4033,4169,2386,4062,153,1648,4018,373],"class_list":["post-77480","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-east-canyon","category-rough-legged-hawks","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-lagopus","tag-buteos","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-male","tag-raptors","tag-rough-legged-hawk","tag-sky","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-adult-male-mia-mcpherson-4699.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-k9G","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":99683,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/02\/05\/light-morph-male-rough-legged-hawk-winter-site-fidelity\/","url_meta":{"origin":77480,"position":0},"title":"Light Morph Male Rough-legged Hawk Winter Site Fidelity","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I have been photographing a light morph male Rough-legged Hawk on or near a One Way sign at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge frequently this winter.","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":"Rough-legged Hawk adult male with dark clouds in the background, 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-adult-male-mia-mcpherson-5308.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-adult-male-mia-mcpherson-5308.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-adult-male-mia-mcpherson-5308.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/rough-legged-hawk-adult-male-mia-mcpherson-5308.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107524,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/10\/25\/rough-legged-hawk-season-has-begun\/","url_meta":{"origin":77480,"position":1},"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. 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2019","format":false,"excerpt":"It is currently the time of the year when I start looking for Rough-legged Hawks in northern Utah, the temps have dipped below freezing, there has been frost on the ground and now we've had our first snow.","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 perched on a parking sign, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-parking-sign-mia-mcpherson-9707.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-parking-sign-mia-mcpherson-9707.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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