I don’t know about other birdwatchers but I do get a little bit excited when I realize winter bird photography is just around the corner.
This is especially the case when the rough-legged hawks finally arrive on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in November and can easily be seen on both Forest Street and portions of the auto tour route for a couple of months.
Every winter portions of northern Utah play host to these arctic breeding raptors as they fly south for the winter to find food and a somewhat milder climate than what the arctic tundra experiences during the winter season.
Rough-legged hawks migrate south to places like the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to feed upon rodents such as mice and voles as well as catching the occasional small bird or two when the opportunity presents itself.
But small mammals and birds aren’t the only source of food for these beautiful arctic raptors during the winter months, rough-legged hawks will scavenge and feed on leftover duck carcasses if and when the need arises, especially when rodents are scarce.
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This was made known to me a few winters ago when I was photographing birds on the Antelope Island Causeway and I came across a rough-legged hawk meticulously guarding a northern shoveler carcass from a pestering northern harrier nearby.
Ducks, especially the northern shoveler, are very common along the causeway during the winter months and will oftentimes congregate in large flocks in any small pockets of open water that might be available this time of year.
These large flocks of ducks, in turn, become easy prey for other raptors, including bald eagles and prairie falcons, that frequent the Great Salt Lake to feed upon the wintering waterfowl.
It is common to see discarded duck carcasses in the snow and on the ice from bald eagles and falcons, sometimes being the only meal a wandering coyote can find during a very harsh winter day.
But on this particular trip to the island, I came across a rough-legged hawk that was actively feeding upon a northern shoveler carcass before it got tired of me and my camera, thus carrying its meal further out on the ice to eat in peace I guess.
Rough-legged hawks aren’t really adept at catching live ducks, especially on the wing, but they will scavenge already dead waterfowl carcasses when they can during the sometimes very cold and brutal winters here in Utah.
It won’t be much longer before rough-legged hawks start showing up here in northern Utah as I typically see my first one sometime in late November at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
So if you’re interested in seeing a rough-legged hawk this winter, I offer you to head on over to our subscribe page and sign up for email notifications for future blog posts about our birdwatching and photography excursions on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
And if you are into social media at all, we will also update our findings on our Bear River Blogger Facebook page so keep up to date by following our page as well.
(Great Blue Herons Hunting The Shallow Water. For short nature clips like this one and interesting stories about the natural world around us, check out our Bear River Blogger channel on YouTube for videos and updates from our travels while out in nature, both on and off of the famed Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.)
