Maricopa County: A Rough-legged Hawk!

 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.

Birding the awesome Flagstaff Area!

Hi everyone,

Yesterday on March 30th, 2013, Dominic Sherony and I ventured north to Flagstaff to explore the areas of Mormon Lake and Lake Mary.  It was an amazing day of birding, and Dominic and I had plenty of good highlights.  The highlights included many of the previously reported birds in the area, as well as several unexpected surprises.  We spent about seven hours in the area, and it was overcast and cloudy conditions during the entire day.  Any outing to this beautiful and scenic area is always awesome.

Lake Mary Road

Our first birding stop came along Lake Mary Road before we reached Upper and Lower Lake Mary.  A perched accipiter caught our attention, and when we turned around to study it, it turned out to be an adult COOPER'S HAWK.  RED CROSSBILLS were singing nearby at this spot we pulled over alongside the road.  PYGMY NUTHATCHES, STELLER'S JAYS, and WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were also nearby.

Dominic getting photo's of the Coop

Along Upper and Lower Lake Mary, birds included two young BALD EAGLES perched along Lake Mary Road, a singing CANYON WREN on rocky bluffs north of the road, and more RED CROSSBILLS.  The waters held GREAT BLUE HERONS, 3 fishing OSPREYS, CINNAMON and GREEN-WINGED TEAL, AMERICAN WIGEON, and a few PIED-BILLED GREBES.

Bald Eagle

Cinnamon Teal on Lake Mary

Lower Lake Mary

The real fun then began at the Mormon Lake Overlook.  There is a lot of water in the lake right now from snow melt, and it's a perfect bird sanctuary right now.  When we pulled up to the Overlook, we had a nice male NORTHERN HARRIER cruising over the grasslands.  As others have reported, waterbirds have been abundant from this overlook.  A nice surprise we had was an amazing flock of 70+ AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS in the middle of the lake.  I counted at least 70 birds when I scanned through the scope, but there were definetely a few more.  The flock of pelicans were huddled in together very close.  Another great highlight for us was a flock of FRANKLIN'S GULLS.  It's always nice to see this good-looking gull, and it was a state bird for Dominic!  A few RING-BILLED GULLS were also present.  The abundant waterfowl on the lake included CANADA GOOSE, RING-NECKED DUCK, LESSER SCAUP, CANVASBACK, REDHEAD, BUFFLEHEAD, RUDDY DUCK, NORTHERN SHOVELER, NORTHERN PINTAIL, GREEN-WINGED and CINNAMON TEAL, and MALLARD.  Songbirds around the lake included both WESTERN and EASTERN MEADOWLARKS, COMMON RAVEN and AMERICAN CROW, and VESPER SPARROW.  We weren't seeing the Rough-legged Hawk so we decided to try for it a few hours later.  As we were about to leave, I spied a shrike perched on top of a juniper tree knowing that a Northern Shrike has been here in recent winters.  I quickly got the scope on the bird and saw it was indeed a NORTHERN SHRIKE!  This bird was an adult and had a thin mask that was well below the eye, had a longer bill with a noticeable "hook", was a lighter gray color than Loggerhead Shrike, and it had barring on it's chest.  After the bird gave us good views, it disappeared on us and we didn't get a photograph of it.  This was a life bird for me, and a state bird for Dominic!  There has been a Northern Shrike at the Overlook in previous winters, perhaps this is the same bird.  Deciding we would come back to attempt another shot at the shrike and Rough-legged Hawk, we decided to head down to the Mormon Lake Lodge.   We then had another interruption and great surprise, as a juvenile GOLDEN EAGLE flew across the grassland on the north side of Lake Mary Road (across from the lookout) and perched on a juniper.  Dominic and I both got incredible scope views of the bird, but it was too far away for photos.  We both have never seen a Golden Eagle well before other than horrible "ridgeline" views, so this was a huge deal for both of us.

View of Mormon Lake from Mormon Lake Overlook

Western Meadowlarks sang everywhere!

The Golden Eagle in the distance

Up next was Mormon Lake Lodge and the adjacent RV Trailer Park (accessed on Mormon Lake Road) to look for the Evening Grosbeaks and other goodies others have seen.  As soon as we got out of the vehicle, we heard plenty of EVENING GROSBEAKS calling loudly in the area.  Over the course of the next two hours, we walking around this area looking at the Grosbeaks and other cool birds.  This was also a state bird for Dominic, his third of the day.  Both male and female Evening Grosbeaks were very viewable during this time.  At first they stayed high in the trees and weren't as easy to view, and in the latter hour of our time in the area, they feed and drank water from the ground at close range.  Fellow birders Moe and Carrie Bell also enjoyed the Grosbeaks with us for awhile.  Also in this area were plenty of RED CROSSBILLS, who were also pretty easy to find.  In a few dead snags on the south side of the road were a few LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS.  This woodpecker is a favorite of mine that I don't see enough of.  Other woodpeckers were numerous too, and were represented by a few RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS, a HAIRY WOODPECKER, and a few ACORN WOODPECKERS.  Other birds in the area were WESTERN BLUEBIRD, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS, WHITE-BREASTED and PYGMY NUTHATCHES, DARK-EYED JUNCOS, CHIPPING SPARROWS, and a female MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD in the grassy areas nearby the Lodge.  We headed down to the fire station after the Lodge (shortly east of the Lodge) and at the pond there we had the continuing HOODED MERGANSERS, BUFFLEHEADS, and COMMON MERGANSERS.

Evening Grosbeaks

Lewis's Woodpecker

Western Bluebird

Red-naped Sapsucker

Acorn Woodpecker

Common Mergansers

 Mormon Lake Lodge

After birding the area of the Lodge, we headed back up to the Mormon Lake Overlook hoping for the hawk and another view of the Northern Shrike.  As we drove up, we saw two hovering hawks, and one of them was the ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK.  It was close to the road as we spied it, and over the next thirty minutes I ran back and fourth along the bluff trying to get close looks at the bird.  This was only my second ever Rough-legged Hawk, and I think they are AWESOME!  I managed to get fairly close to it, and get several decent photos of it.  Several RED-TAILED HAWKS and young BALD EAGLES flew around also, in which the wind had picked up, making the raptor viewing party a nice one (it wasn't windy at all on our first stop).  We spent more time looking for the shrike without luck, thinking this go around was going to be a Shrike-out.  Ironically, as we pulled out from the Overlook and started to head west again to Lake Mary, the NORTHERN SHRIKE flew across the street right in front of the vehicle!  A quick u-turn and ten minutes later, I was in front of the shrike after following it down the bluff a short distance.  I got a few good pictures off of the bird and I was very thankful to get pictures!  Both times that Dominic and I saw the shrike, it mainly stayed just west of the Overlook.  It would be at the level of the Overlook at times and other times would perch on trees and bushes on the bluffs below the overlook.  Certainly a cool bird to see!  Dominic and I also discussed that this area of the Mormon Lake Overlook is very "tundra-like", and is very similar to actually being in the Rough-legged Hawk and Northern Shrikes regular habitats.  Seeing these birds here with the snow-covered San Francisco Peaks in the background will stick with my memory for a long time coming.

Rough-legged Hawk

Northern Shrike (Lifebird and # 401 for Arizona!)

Bald Eagle

The "tundra" at Mormon Lake

On the way back we birding the first mile of the road to the nearby Marshall Lake (adjacent to Upper Lake Mary on the north side of Lake Mary Road).  Highlights here was a nice mixed group of birds, which included AMERICAN ROBINS, PYGMY and WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES, WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, and a singing TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE.  Coming back down the road we closed our birding day out on a good note as three PINYON JAYS landed in a pine alongside the road.  They quickly flew off and gave their distinctive loud and then descending call.

Mountain Chickadee

I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed birding this beautiful and spectacular area.  Hopefully I'll be able to bird Flagstaff in the near future, the birding is excellent! I also want to thank Charlie Babbitt and everyone else who has reported the awesome birds up there!

Good Birding,

Tommy DeBardeleben

An epic trip to bird Southeastern Arizona's San Rafael Grasslands

Hi everyone,


Dominic Sherony, Jay Miller, Jim Kopitzke, and I spent a good amount of time starting yesterday afternoon and most of today (2/19/13) birding in several awesome places in pursuit of several awesome birds in southeastern Arizona and Tucson.  Our main birding destination was the San Rafael Grasslands where we spent a good amount of our time.  It was a great trip for the four of us, as we were after life birds, state birds, and birds to photograph.

For Dominic and I, the trip started off on a good note on the afternoon of 2/18/13.  Before we picked up Jim and Jay, we headed over to the Pebble Beach Recreation Site at the Salt River where we were both treated to excellent views of the RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER.  Even though I've seen this bird several times prior to this visit, it was still just as exciting to observe.  It was a real treat for Dominic, as he hasn't seen much of this species and he also got to get his first ever photographs of this species, which turned out very good.

The four of us then headed down for epic Southeastern Arizona.  The Southeastern Arizona birding experience got even better as we stayed in an amazing cabin between Patagonia and Sonoita.  Under the clear skies the star showing was incredible, where we spent some time owling.  We didn't see any owls, but we heard both GREAT HORNED and WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS.  A Western Screech did lead us around for a good amount of time before we couldn't follow it anymore.  A HUGE thanks to Carol Hippenmeyer for her hospitality and generosity, it really made our trip extra special and enjoyable!  Carol you are beyond awesome!

My three buddies enjoying the cabin:

Dominic

Jay

Jim

When this morning (2/19/13) hit, we headed out for the San Rafael Grasslands rather early.  We somehow got a later start than we wanted, and arrived at the grasslands at 6:50 A.M.  Our reason for wanting to get here early was for Short-eared Owl.  We feared we had got there a little late as it was pretty light outside.  But just minutes into pulling onto Forest Road 58 of the Grasslands, I spied a SHORT-EARED OWL sitting right on top of a fenceline roadside as we were approaching.  Our looks of the bird were somewhat distant but we could still make out the bird perfectly.  It quickly resumed it's hunting and flew through the grasslands back and fourth on the north side of the road.  We had decent views of it while it hunted over the grasslands.  Jim watched the bird drop down and catch something, and we were never able to see it again.  This bird was great for the four of us:  a lifer for me, and a state bird for Jim, Jay, and Dominic.  It was also Jim's 400th Arizona bird-congrats Jim!

Picture:  This is a poor but diagnostic picture of the Short-eared Owl.  A wonderful memory!

We than headed over to the Vaca Corral, and Dominic spied one of the continuing ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS perched in at a distance but in decent scope range.  The hawk entertained us for a few minutes before flying off.  About an hour later in the morning when we were on the north/south road heading in the direction of Mexico (forgot the rd's name?), the Rough-legged Hawk somehow "re found" us!  It flew over the vehicle and then perched on a fence roadside at tame close distances.  This was my first ever Rough-legged Hawk, and it gave me looks that I couldn't have ever asked better for a lifer.  It was also a state bird for Jim (#401!!!) and Jay, and it was Dominic's 3rd Arizona RLHA.

This is the start of a selection of photo captures I was able to obtain when we observed the Rough-legged Hawk.  These first few shots came when the Rough-legged Hawk found us.  Jim spied the bird flying over one of the hills and it flew over us at close and wonderful distances.

The Rough-legged Hawk then landed on a fence at a rather close distance away.  These shots show the bird with the beauty of the surrounding grasslands..

As we drove a little closer to the hawk, it took flight again.  But ironically, it landed at a very close distance along the side of the road along a fence line.  We managed to get extremely close to this bird, and it was super cooperative and almost tame-acting.  In the Rough-legged Hawks that Dominic has observed, they are usually a very shy raptor that don't allow close approach.  This one seemed to know it was my lifebird, and it gave me everything possible that I could've wished for in seeing my first Rough-legged Hawk.  There were tall weeds in the way in some of our views, which may have contributed to the hawk perching super close in obstructing it's view of us.

After seeing this hawk for about ten minutes at this crazy close distance that had to have been less than 50 feet away, it flew off to another perch that was still very close to the road.  Here is another shot with the hawk and the epic Grasslands in the background...

For our final looks, we were able to enjoy more views for a few more minutes.  The hawk still pleased everyone and ceased to fly off far.  Once again, a great way for me to get a lifer!

Prior to this day, the Rough-legged Hawk has been a species that I have been dying to see.  Can you blame me?  After seeing a big hawk out in Buckeye hovering like a kestrel with all the right jizz before I was about to get an identification on it, I was almost 99 percent and change sure that it was a Rough-legged Hawk.  It was always one I wanted badly.  Here is a brief factual overview on the Rough-legged Hawk, who's scientific name is Buteo Lagopus:  It gets it's name "Rough-legged" Hawk referring to it's feathered legs, which are feathered all the way down to it's talons.  They breed in the far north, which includes Alaska and far northern Canada.  The species preferred habitat is open tundra, plains, and marshes.  Rough-legged Hawks typically winter in southern Canada and the northern United States in high numbers.  They are annual further south in the United States but in much lower numbers.  Some years harbor many more hawks than others.  In Arizona, the Rough legged Hawk is rare but annual throughout the state in winter, in fields and grasslands.  They are more regular in the northern half of the state than the southern half.  The Rough-legged Hawk is also known for it's hovering behavior in one place (similar to a kestrel), which is one of it's key behavioral traits.  Rough-legged Hawks are a very variable hawk.  There are both light and dark morphs and  male and females look very different.  This individual is an adult female.  For this bird to be down in the San Rafael Grasslands, it traveled a VERY far distance from it's breeding grounds and has a very far distance to head back.  When these photos were taken of this special bird, we were only a few miles north of Mexico.  

Other raptors were also abundant through the San Rafael Valley.  This included a WHITE-TAILED KITE, abundant NORTHERN HARRIERS, several RED-TAILED HAWKS, plenty of AMERICAN KESTRELS, a MERLIN, and a PRAIRIE FALCON.  Another big target we had at the Grasslands was Baird's Sparrow, in which we struck out on.  Sparrow activity was surprisingly down today at San Rafael, with not much else other than VESPER and SAVANNAH SPARROWS.  Despite a big effort and patient attempt at searching for the Baird's along dense grass among fencelines, we came up empty.  CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPURS were abundant near the Vaca Corral, constantly flying back-and-fourth.  It's almost like they are wasting their own time by flying around the way they fly around.  A few times we caught good glimpses of them, which included looks at several stunning males who have come into breeding plumage.  There were probably anywhere between 200-300 CC LO'S in this area.  The San Rafael Grasslands is a beautiful and stunning place.  In some ways I'm almost glad I missed Baird's Sparrow.  It gives me an excuse to go back.

Before I forget, these guys were also abundant.  The Horned Lark!

Here are also a few pictures from the San Rafael Grasslands:

After the Grasslands, high winds that had picked up made the Paton's Yard tough to get on anything, so we headed up to Tucson.

Our final stop of the day came at the Roger Road WTF at 1:10 P.M., where we were after our last target of the trip, the YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER.  It was windy here too, with strong gusts blowing through at times.  But the bird activity was high despite the wind, which calmed down towards the end.  We all walked around in search of the warbler, and Dominic found the bird well over an hour later.  We were all able to get on it and it was a great way to end the day.  The Yellow-throated Warbler was on the east side of the east pond and then worked it's way to the north side of the pond.  It flew up into a palm tree and never came back out.  Dominic spied it foraging at mid-level at a close distance.  The warbler was a treat for all of us, being a state bird for the four of us as well as a lifer for both Jay and me.

Poor but diagnostic photos of the Yellow-throated Warbler:

We all had three great highlights apiece on the trip, and it was a memorable one to Southeastern Arizona.  As always!



Good Birding,

Tommy DeBardeleben (Glendale, Arizona)