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Rough-legged Hawks



Greetings all,

As a follow-up to John Wright's post regarding the Rough-legged hawks
being seen at Alligator Refuge, I can personally verify that there are
AT LEAST 2 individuals present. The first, an adult male I watched at
length on 2-6 is what I call a "level 3" light phase. The belly band is
streaked with a small mid-band break and the underwing wrist marks are
mottled. The uppertail is about 65% white. The second bird is what I
call a "normal phase or a "level 4" bird. The belly band is solid black,
the underwing wrist marks are large, bold black oval patches and only
about 40% of the uppertail is white. Jeff Pippen and I had two Rough-leg
sightings at Alligator Refuge on 2-5, neither off which was the phase 3
bird, although may have referred to a single individual. Jeff also saw a
very distant bird, while watching the first which may have been a second
bird.

Also, there is an unusually pale male N. Harrier which could easily be
mistaken for something else - such as a White-tailed Kite.

Mike Tove
mtove@nissan.net
Cary, NC