Rough-legged Hawk, November 22, 2015

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting (click to see a larger version)

I had a Rough-legged Hawk fly south over Montrose Point this morning. Rough-legged Hawks are rare at Montrose; I think I’ve seen fewer than 10 in the 35+ years I’ve been birding there. I saw the bird just after sunrise and it was a couple of hundred feet high so it must have started migrating in the dark.

Other birds seen at Montrose this chilly a.m. include:

American Pipit – 2
Fox Sparrow – 2
Savannah Sparrow – 1
Lapland Longspur – 5
Snow Bunting – ~8
Common Redpoll – 3
Pine Siskin – 1

It was so cold this morning the lake was steaming, something we usually don’t see until well into winter.

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan Steaming (click to see a larger version)