On January 15th, 2022 later in the day, a report came into the birding community from Aaron Watler with great photographs of a Rough-legged Hawk in Maricopa County in Queen Creek. When asked about the whereabouts of his sighting, Aaron said it was by the intersection of Ellsworth and Germann Roads. As I looked on Google Maps, I could see that the area did have a share of open fields at that intersection, as well as nearby. He said the bird returned to a pole near the intersection several times, and because of that I was hopeful that it would stay. The next day on January 16th, birders went to the intersection and found a big open field area on the northeast side of Ellsworth and Germann. It had lots of grass, tumbleweeds, and open areas. It also had lots of raptors utilizing the fields. Fortunately for the birders, the Rough-legged Hawk was one of those raptors.
I wasn't out there to begin the day because I had to work, and work went by slow because I wanted to see the bird very badly. Over the years, I've really wanted Rough-legged Hawk for Maricopa County. These hawks nest in the far arctic north, and are rare migrants and winter visitors south of northern Arizona. Their small bills and feathered legs are suitable for arctic living, as this species feeds primarily on rodents. I've thought I've had them on several occasions, and I had chased and missed them on three occasions. This bird seemed to be the one that would give me a great chance. Up until my work shift ended, positive reports came in of the continuing hawk. I didn't get to make it out to Queen Creek till about 2:40 P.M. The field that the hawk was being observed in was much bigger than I thought it was going to be. I ran into Anne Leight and we started scanning many raptors in flight whether right over the fields or high up in the sky. We worked our way over to a point in the field where the hawk was said to be more viewable. 40 minutes into the search and not long after starting our scan at this point, I found the Rough-legged Hawk sitting on a tumbleweed clump. It's light head contrasting with it's dark belly area stood out, and it felt freaking good to see it. Anne and I were joined by Mark Ochs and Muriel Neddermeyer for awhile, where we watched the hawk forage and fly around in the field. At times we got fairly close to it. This Rough-legged Hawk was aged as a juvenile bird, which is a plumage in the species where sexes look similar. Adults on the other hand, are straightforward to sex. After Anne and Mark left, Muriel and I watched the hawk from various viewpoints until dusk. We also looked for Short-eared Owls without luck. With as many raptors that were present, a Short-eared Owl had to have been out there somewhere. It was a great afternoon to enjoy the Rough-legged Hawk and finally get it for Maricopa County!
On January 22nd, I decided to go out to Queen Creek again to look at the Rough-legged Hawk further as it has been cooperative for many birders since it was discovered. I enjoyed the bird for awhile with Kyler Noe and Sean Peters, and once they left, I spent a few hours enjoying it. The hawk soared for about 90 percent of the time and didn't land often. It did come down low a few times to give me awesome looks. At one point, I even heard the bird call. The field at Germann and Ellsworth has been a great place to observe and study raptors for many over this past week. Ferruginous and a variety of Red-tailed Hawks have been present, as well as Merlin, Prairie Falcon, and more. As I write, the awesome Rough-legged Hawk is still around.
No comments:
Post a Comment