Boulder County Rough-legged Hawks

[elena]

There was a Rough-legged Hawk perched close to the Diagonal Highway between Highway 52 and Monarch Road this afternoon, around 4 pm (great birding with little traffic, thanks to that football game). This morning, on our monthly Boulder County Winter Raptor Survey, we had three on the route (east Boulder County, south to the Rock Creek Open Space south of Dillon Road), possibly our record high for this species on the route. The Bald Eagle pair at the Open Space is hanging on, despite construction of what look like apartments incredibly close to their nest tree, and last month there was a female Harrier there, but not this morning. -Elena Klaver, Niwot