BC Fairgrounds 1/11--Rough-legged Hawk

This seems to be the Year of Lousy Looks. The Trumpeter Swans at Stone Tavern Lake were far off in a corner, The Eurasian Wigeon was a prime example of Ducks at a Distance, and yesterday's Long-billed Dowitchers made a determined effort not to be on the side of the lake where I was. Today's Rough-legged Hawk at the BC Fairgrounds extended the pattern.  

The old sod farm grounds beyond the Fairgrounds parking lot is an historical location for Rough-legged Hawk. (Aside: not "traditional." Birds have histories, they don't have traditions). It where Shari and I got our life Rough-legged and every year since then I think I have returned to find one in the winter. 

Today was bitterly cold, but I walked the Ocean County side of Whitesbog despite the frigid temperatures. I didn't have much to show for my efforts, so I decided to see if I could find the hawk at the Fairgrounds, with the luck from inside my warm car. 

Northern Harrier, digiscoped

The first bird I saw was a beautiful Gray Ghost Northern Harrier sweeping low along the grass. A couple of others were sitting at the back edge of the field and I found another perched up on a tree closer to 206. A couple of Bald Eagles were playing/fighting with each, one an adult, one immature, and an unidentified falcon was getting into the act too. But the dark morph Rough-legged wasn't apparent. 

A photographer told me he'd seen it on the left side of the pond roosting in a tree. It was only about 500 feet away from where I'd parked so I walked over there. He drove and by the time I was halfway there he told me it had flown. Then he told me about how he'd photographed it yesterday and that it was around, I just had to "put in the time." Oh, thanks loads for the advice, why didn't you tell me you saw it earlier when you saw my scope? 

The wind was whipping in the open lot and I wasn't feeling happy. I saw another birder back by the 206 side; I had notion of who it was and when I got closer it turned out I did know him. Of course, he was looking for the Rough-legged too. Maybe his eyes weren't tearing as much from the wind as much as mine were, but he spotted a hawk in a far-off tree but once we got it in the scope it turned out to be just a Red-Tailed Hawk. I could tell from the belly band. Then he saw another hawk fly into the tree next to the Red-tail's, at about the same level. I couldn't spot it at first until it moved out of the denser branches. Putting the scope on it proved it to be our target, with just enough field marks to make the case, but if this had been a life bird I would have to think carefully about counting it. As it is, it is just another bird on the list. As Mike sometimes says, "It isn't amazing that we can identify birds from so far away now," I always reply, "Yes, but it isn't any fun."