Rough-legged Hawks

(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.

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

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.”

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

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