10comments Dark Phase Rough-legged Hawk

Okay, so after thinking this was a Western Red-tailed Hawk (here is one from earlier this year), someone on Flickr promptly corrected my mistake and informed me that this is a dark phase Rough-legged Hawk! I'm certain there was a Western Red-tail at the landfill today because I saw the red, but it wasn't this guy. There are so many hawks out there it's getting hard to keep track. Anyway, I'm glad my mistake was corrected, looks like I still have some learning to do.

This bird is currently on the ebird home page. They have a ebird rarities flickr pool and the images from that pool show up on the home page. If you haven't tried ebird I would highly recommend it. It is a good way to see trends and keep track of lists, but more importantly, by contributing your sightings, you will be giving ornithologists hard data on bird populations. It is known as "citizen science" and it is a great tool for birders and scientists alike.