SJWA: Golden Eagle and Rough-Legged Hawk

In "A Birder's Guide to Southern California", Chet McGaugh suggests that the San Jacinto Wildlife Area is one of the best inland spots for winter birding in the United States.  This winter has certainly backed that up, especially when it comes to raptors.

Because of this, I have been trying to spend as much time as possible down there before the raptors head north.  Today I entered the park from the opposite side that I normally enter from to look for the "other" Rough-Legged Hawk that had been in this area.  Ramona Expressway is not a fun place to pull off (especially during the morning rush), but I saw two birds in the area where the bird had been reported.  After breaking out the scope, the first bird was a Red-Tailed.  I expected the second bird to be the same, but to my surprise it was the Rough-Legged Hawk (201)!  It felt good to get a bird that had been so elusive for me this winter.

After that bird, I spent about an hour looking for the Gyrfalcon.  When it didn't show, I went to a new spot where some Golden Eagles had recently been spotted.  After about 15 minutes of watching Red-Taileds, an immature Golden Eagle (202), flew into the area!  Three Red-Tailed Hawks and a Crow mobbed the Eagle for about 5 minutes before it decided it had enough.  The size of the Eagle was pretty amazing; it made the Hawks look tiny.  At a few points, the Eagle seemed to twist upside-down to try to catch the Hawk on its way in.

Still outside SJWA, I was able to spot at least twenty Sage Thrashers (203) that had been in the area.  This is a good bird on its own, but the sheer number of them was pretty crazy.

I was also able to spot an immature Ferruginous Hawk inside the park, and a "Harlan's" Red-Tailed Hawk.  The Harlan's Hawk looks like a Black/White Red-Tailed Hawk.  If I'm not mistaken, it used to be it's own species.  If they ever split the species again, we can add one to our list.

Other cool birds included a Long-Billed Curlew, Burrowing Owl, Loggerhead Shrike, Gadwal, Cinnamon Teal, Common Mergansers, Osprey, Bufflehead, and Ruby-Crowned Kinglet.

Matt Grube is generously allowing us to enhance our blog with his photos, just as along as nobody uses them for commercial purposes.  Below is a picture he took of the same Rough-Legged Hawk I saw (notice the missing primary).  Also below is a Golden Eagle shot--probably not the same bird, but it was taken at the same spot.  Finally, check out that YouTube video of a Golden Eagle showing off its strength and athleticism (start at 0:42).

Best,

Kevin