Rough legged Hawk

[tmanson]

Hi all: Picture of the Rough legged Hawk in a tree just off Macguire, west of Prest, taken yesterday, Feb, 14 2007.




Cheers, Thor

Thor Manson
Hope, B.C.

[tmanson]

Hi all: First of all a correction on the date: Feb 14 2008. Hope I haven't written too many cheques this way.
Secondly, after posting the picture, I started to look at it more critically, and I called Murray to ask him how sure he was about our joint id of the bird as a Rough-legged. He asked me if I was thinking of something that started with the letter H, and I said I was.
In any event, without wishing to prejudice the discussion too much, we are asking for some critiques of our id.
Initially, I thought I was just posting another picture of a bird Gord saw, but now, after looking at his picture, I know we are talking about 2 different birds.
Also, if anyone is in the area of Macguire and Prest, they may want to have a look to see if the bird is still around.
Incidentally, we are both still leaning towards the Rough legged id., but are more than happy to be convinced otherwise. Cheers. Thor

Thor Manson
Hope, B.C.

[Gord]

Thor, interesting bird! The Rough-legged Hawk I photographed was in Sumas Prairie Abbotsford. I sadly have not seen a Rough-legged Hawk wintering in the Chilliwack area for several years.

When I first looked at it, I didnt get a Rough-legged feel from it but on the other hand couldnt strongly say Red-tailed Hawk juv either.

I guess it boils down to the following

-Juv dark phase Rough-legged Hawk (would have to be intermediate between light and dark phase with all the streaks?)
-Red-tailed Hawk juv (but lacks what are usually fairly distinct white on the back)
-Harlen's Hawk (but has brown tones...)

We should probably not rule out an intergrade with Harlen's (A subspecies of Red-tailed Hawk) Hawk and Red-tailed Hawk juv especially based on the brownish tones of a bird that looks similar to a Red-tailed Hawk juv but something is not right. I think it's tough to ID the two at the best of times.

For fun, will post a few shots of a Red-tailed juv from a few years ago to either help or complicate things! ;D It does have some similarity to the bird in question.

[Gord]

I think I might have briefly spotted Thor and Murray's hawk today from Prest Road. I was not able to stop for a look but it did certainly catch my eye. I really dont have anything helpful to say from my brief sighting other than Im keen for a good look!

However, managed to scan a flock of ducks further down and was pleased to see two male Eurasian Wigeons.