ML646163116

Observation details

Exactly .3 miles north of the entrance to the Pt. Piedras Blancas Lighthouse I parked off Hwy 1 to watch a Red-tailed Hawk when I noticed the Rough-legged Hawk flying low over the grassy field east of the highway. The hawk was dark above and light below with dark streaking and had thicker streaking at the belly. The under wing was white edged with black and had a beige leading edge with dark wrist patches. The light colored head had some fine streaking and the white tail had a dark terminal band. I was able to watch it for several minutes as it hunted over the field and occasionally dropped to the ground to catch small prey. The nearby Red-tailed Hawks watched the RLHA hunting but did not interact with it.