Bird of the Day: Rough-legged Hawk!

Since I work Tuesday through Saturday, I view Sunday and Monday as my birding days.  Naturally I try to pack a weeks worth of birding into these two days.  Today was no different.

Today we headed out hoping to see birds of prey.  Almost immediately we spotted a Cooper's Hawk along the highway.  Woo Hoo!  Off to a great start!  Although we didn't count the number of Red-Tailed Hawks, it seemed like there were hundreds (one of which stayed still long enough to gake a pretty decent picture).  Both of us were spotting RT Hawks left and right.  One of the times I spotted a hawk soaring up high to the left of the highway.  It only took a second to realize it had a dark tail band, dark "knuckles," and windows on the wings.  I'm glad there wasn't much traffic because I'm sure I drifted into the other lane while gazing out the window.  :) A quick check with the guide confirmed a Rough-legged Hawk.  Excellent! A Lifer!