Rough-legged Hawk

A stunning dark morph Rough-legged Hawk hunts for mice and voles in winter [December; Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota]

A stunning dark morph Rough-legged Hawk hunts for mice and voles in winter [December; Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota]

A Rough-legged Hawk feeding on a small rodent it just caught [December; Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota]

A Rough-legged Hawk feeding on a small rodent it just caught [December; Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota]

A Rough-legged Hawk feeding on a small rodent it just caught [December; Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota]

Rough-legged Hawks nest on the open tundra of the Far North. In late fall and winter they hunt small rodents in the northern U.S. [October; Skogstjarna, Carlton County, Minnesota]

Rough-legged Hawks nest on the open tundra of the Far North. In late fall and winter they hunt small rodents in the northern U.S. [October; Skogstjarna, Carlton County, Minnesota]

Rough-legged Hawks nest on the open tundra of the Far North. In late fall and winter they hunt small rodents in the northern U.S. [October; Skogstjarna, Carlton County, Minnesota]

Rough-legged Hawks nest on the open tundra of the Far North. In late fall and winter they hunt small rodents in the northern U.S. [October; Skogstjarna, Carlton County, Minnesota]

Rough-legged Hawks nest on the open tundra of the Far North. In late fall and winter they hunt small rodents in the northern U.S. [October; Skogstjarna, Carlton County, Minnesota]

Rough-legged Hawks hunt in open country in late fall in Minnesota...until the snow gets too deep [January; Carlton County, Minnesota]

Rough-legged Hawks hunt in open country in late fall in Minnesota...until the snow gets too deep [January; Carlton County, Minnesota]

Soaring overhead is a late fall migrant to the North, a Rough-legged Hawk [January; Carlton County, Minnesota]