BC Fairground 1/3--Rough-legged Hawk

 A .333 batting average is great in the Major Leagues. Chasing birds, not so much. I started the morning at Franklin Parker Preserve. A Northern Shrike has been there since late December, but I figured I'd wait for the new year to go look for it. A shrike has been spotted there for the last 3 years, though this is the first time it has been around the reservoir. FPP is vast (at one time I believe it was the largest cranberry bog in NJ), but the shrike has been reported in a specific, easy to find area, around the observation deck. I spent, off and on, about an hour on the deck, and the rest of the time wandering around the reservoir. No Lucky Shrike for me today. 

Then I saw that the Ross's Goose that has been in the Mt Laurel vicinity was spotted again this morning. It was something like 25 miles away from FPP, but I figured I give it a shot. I should have looked at the map more closely. I thought I'd be looking at flock of Canada Geese on a farm field, which is where it was originally reported, but today the pin was dropped at the entrance to a housing development where there are a couple of small retention ponds on the main road. NO TRESPASSING signs everywhere. And only about 50 geese. No Ross's among them. 

I had one more idea for a rarity today. Another half-hour drive up the BC Fairgrounds to look for the continuing, semi-reliable Rough-legged Hawk. When I got there a couple of birders I know were also setting up scopes. They had seen the Ross's, just a bit beyond where I was, in a field behind a barn. If I knew my way around that part of Burlco, I probably would have felt comfortable exploring a bit more, but I don't. We thought we had the Rough-legged, but the light was terrible--hazy & shimmering. While I was reasonably sure the hawk I scoped on the radio tower and then saw flying was the target, it was such a lousy look that I was debating if I wanted to list it. 

Another guy I know came up. He also had just seen the Ross's in a slightly different section of that field. He also had the shrike yesterday. So, as I'm gnashing my teeth, we looked for the Rough-legged. A woman drove up and told us she'd just seen the hawk west of where we were standing, so we drove a quarter of a mile and set up again joined by another searcher. Still nothing. It was well past my lunch time by then, so I got in the car and was pulling out when the guy held up his hand. The bird was in the field, hunkered down. I cut the engine and got out again.  I couldn't see it but then it flew up and around the field giving great views, unmistakable, as they say. It hover-hunted over the field, like a gigantic kestrel. No pics, as you can see. But at least I felt I could legitimately list it for the year. 

Other new birds there were a Black Vulture and Eastern Meadowlarks, a very handsome bird that I don't get to see all that much. The year's count is 70. Not a lot for all the driving I've done.