Rough-legged Hawks

Rough-legged Hawk, Six Mile Run, NJ, Feb. 13, 2015 (photo by Chris Duffek)

(Click on the photo for a larger image.)

Duke Farms in Hillsborough Twp. has tallied at least 9 Rough-legged Hawks this week but does not have a monopoly on the species in Somerset County. 4 Rough-legged Hawks, including 3 dark morph individuals, were seen and photographed at Six Mile Run in neighboring Franklin Township this cold day by Chris Duffek while in the safety and warmth of his truck at Jacques Lane.

Clearly, Somerset County and the Meadowlands in Bergen County are the two hot spots for Rough-legged Hawks in New Jersey this month.

Rough-legged Hawk, Six Mile Run, NJ, Feb. 13, 2015 (photo by Chris Duffek)

While Somerset County has a virtual glut of Rough-legged Hawks, Morris has barely any, although a light morph Rough-legged Hawk was reported this afternoon at 1:30 from the overlook on Pleasant Plains Rd., Great Swamp NWR by Patrick DiMarco.

The Last Word of a Bluebird
by Robert Frost

Eastern Bluebirds, Great Swamp NWR, NJ, Feb. 13, 2015 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)

As told to a child

As I went out a Crow
In a low voice said, “Oh,
I was looking for you.
How do you do?
I just came to tell you
To tell Lesley (will you?)
That her little Bluebird
Wanted me to bring word
That the north wind last night
That made the stars bright
And made ice on the trough
Almost made him cough
His tail feathers off.
He just had to fly!
But he sent her Good-by,
And said to be good,
And wear her red hood,
And look for the skunk tracks
In the snow with an ax-
And do everything!
And perhaps in the spring
He would come back and sing.”

Eastern Bluebird, Great Swamp NWR, NJ, Feb. 13, 2015 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)

eBird Checklists for the mocosocoBirds region may be viewed via eBird’s Region Explorer. Use the following links:

• Morris County
• Somerset County

The eBird Hotspot Primer is here and can also be accessed via the Hotspot menu item on the mocosocoBirds.com website.

@mocosocoBirds at Twitter is another communications stream. Instant field reports and links of interest are tweeted throughout the day. The latest tweets appear on the sidebar of this page. One can follow mocosocoBirds at Twitter or link to @mocosocoBirds.

Finis