BC Fairgrounds 12/2--Rough-legged Hawk

Years ago, Shari & I got our life Rough-legged Hawk at the Burlington County Fairgrounds, but as I recall, it took several trips and on the day we finally saw one, we circled the area 3 or 4 times before we finally parked on a precarious shoulder and found the bird hovering over the grasslands. I was a lot more persistent back then. The fairgrounds are a reliable spot for this species and in the intervening years I've been pretty fortunate when I've gone looking for the bird, but I usually have to put in some time. 

Today, after my walk around Whitesbog, I drove over to the fairgrounds and saw 3 hawks flying above the fields. Two were harassing the middle bird which had big white patches on its wings. Two Northern Harriers bickering with a Rough-legged Hawk. Since I usually see this species one time a year, I wanted to make sure, so I asked another birder there if I was right in my i.d., which he affirmed. Well, that was easy and a good thing too, because it was pretty blustery there today and hanging around a parking lot looking for a hawk was not how I wanted to spend the afternoon. No chance for a picture; the other guy was trying to digiscope the bird in flight but I knew that was a mug's game. 

Along with the 4 Northern Harriers I saw (there were probably as many 6 according to the birder I consulted, they're pretty common at the site), I also saw 4 Black Vultures and an American Kestrel, another species that is a gimme there this time of year. 

American Kestrel