This afternoon Jon Ranson and myself visited Blue Mash for the first time - thanks to all of those on the list who sent such great directions!  We entered on the Mt. Zion Road side. The parking lot had been somewhat cleared - just enough for 3 cars to park.  The snow appears to be at least 10 inches on the trails, maybe even a foot or more.  When we went off-trail, I sunk almost to my knees.  The trails are passable, but not easy at the moment. 

As soon as we got out of the car, a hawk flew over head, followed by a few crows, and landed in a nearby tree.  The light was bad, but I believe this was our first encounter with the Rough Legged Hawk.  It didn't look like any bird I was familiar with, but for the Rough legged I was looking for a light tail with a dark terminal band as well as the black "wrist" marks, and it had neither.  The small, hooked bill with a yellow cere and yellow upper bill, plus the smallish head made me think this was not a bird I had seen before.  The bird moved from tree to tree, followed by the crows, then flew up the road and we lost sight of it.  

We went to the fence, turned right and walked up the path.  We went to the path where it circles back to the parking lot through the woods, without seeing any raptors other than a nice sharpshin hawk.  Rather than go through the woods, we wanted to keep an eye on the old landfil site, so retraced our steps.  When we reached the area where we could see the tops of the lightpoles in the parking lot, Jon spotted a hawk perched on one.  It was pretty distant, and we had left the scope in the car, so no hope of a good look.  Finally it flew, without an ID, and we moved on.  

Not long afterward, we passed a spot near the small brown building, where all four lights could be seen.  The hawk was once again on the light.  We got a better look, and were pretty sure of the Rough Legged by this point.  We watched for a long time, then Jon retreived the scope and got a good look.   

When the bird flew, it flashed white on the end of the upper wings, on the primaries - and this was a very clear field mark.  It was quite light underneath, with no black wrist patch.  There was a dark tail, with some banding, but especially a dark terminal band.  It landed in a tree close much closer, and we got an excellent view.  Jeff Shenot came along and confirmed our ID.   The bird then flew back to the woods, close to where we had seen it before, and we packed up the scope and began to leave.  It came back to the area near the building, however, and landed in a tree as we were leaving. 

Jon and I watched the bird for nearly an hour.  Very good views.  

Also saw 2 beautiful NORTHERN HARRIERS - one female, one "grey ghost" male hunting.  The hawk flew also at times, while they flew - but also the female kept crossing in front of the hawk as he sat perched on a tree for a short time.  

Joanne

Joanne Howl, DVM
West River, MD