Rough-legged Hawk

Rough-legged Hawk, Hadley, MA, Jan 22, 2012

Rough-legged Hawk, Hadley, MA, Jan 22, 2012

A very cold (4 degrees) but sunny morning found me heading out to try and take advantage of a day without snow or ice.  I started at Quabbin but the air was so cold it resulted in a low layer of fog hanging over the water which made viewing of any waterfowl impossible.  I did have one adult Bald Eagle flying over the water well out from Winsor Dam.  I then decided to head toward Amherst.

American Tree Sparrow, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, Jan 22, 2012

White-throated Sparrow, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, Jan 22, 2012

Song Sparrow, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, Jan 22, 2012

Rough-legged Hawk, Hadley, MA, Jan 22, 2012

I stopped at the UMASS campus pond to see if any odd geese were around but the pond was nearly completely frozen and the only waterfowl were 300+ Mallards and a few Black Ducks.  I then headed over to the UMASS horse farm as well as some other fields in the general area.  No luck here so I decided to head south and go to Hampshire College to see if the Dickcissel survived the latest bout of snow and cold.  On the way I noticed a large raptor at the top of a tree along South Maple Street south of Mill Valley Rd.  I was thinking Rough-legged and sure enough that is what it was.  The bird was in an area that is difficult to stop along and view the bird.  I managed a couple of quick views and photos but I really wish the bird was in a safer spot to pull over and view it from.  After a few rides back and forth viewing the hawk I headed to Hampshire College.  Despite a bit of looking I did not manage to find the Dickcissel.  It may indeed still be around but I could not locate it today.  There were a fair number of sparrows around here including Song, White-throated and American Tree Sparrows as well as Dark-eyed Juncos.