Arriving with the latest winter storm, a rough-legged hawk was hunting on the farmlands east of Columbia yesterday morning. Perched atop a small tree, as is typical for this open-country raptor, our visitor from the Arctic was unfazed by the cold wind.
Nesting on Arctic cliffs, these hardy hawks feed primarily on lemmings and their population waxes and wanes in concert with the availability of their prey. Rough-legged hawks winter across the northern half of the U.S. but are most abundant on the High Plains where the topography mimics their home territory. Indeed, I encounter dozens of these hunters on winter trips between Missouri and Colorado but generally observe only a few (at most) near Columbia throughout the colder months.
It is always reassuring to watch an Arctic native when frigid air and heavy snow invade the Heartland. Though we retreat to our heated homes and vehicles, this hawk seems to relish the chill, even shunning the protection of dense winter forest.
