Rough-legged Hawk
Photo by Matt Valencic

Searching for winter raptors is done from the comfort of your car. Just drive around appropriate habitats, find safe places to stop, then start looking! Some raptors are year-round residents, like Red-tailed, Red-shouldered and Cooper’s Hawks. Others, like Northern Harrier’s, Rough-legged Hawks and Short-eared Owls, arrive here in November/December from their breeding grounds in Canada or the arctic tundra. Get to know their desired habitats and the time of day they hunt, then check eBird to learn where they are being seen (use EXPLORE Species Maps feature). Pack a lunch, grab a birding friend or three, then go ‘chasing’ raptors on a sunny, winter day.

Rough-legged Hawks breed on the treeless, open tundra.  They arrive in NE Ohio in November and stay until March, hunting all day over large, open, fields and grassy areas like airports, wildlife areas and Amish farmlands.  They need short to tall vegetation that supports small mammals like voles and mice. Find them in Geauga County on Patch Road and Hayes Road.