Tweeters,

Yesterday Jerry and Sandy posted the following observation, presumably
(though not stated, from the Grand Coulee country of Washington) :

Oh ya---the ROUGH-LEGGED
> HAWKS are starting to show up. We saw three yesterday in areas we have
> not seen any for quite some time.

An early August arrival of Rough-legs in north-central Washington is
improbable. Could you have been seeing Red-tailed Hawks? Many in immature
plumage show lots of white, even appearing to have a whitish rump patch
(actually uppertail coverts). I struggled with this id as a teenager in
southern California. I even made a detailed drawing of a ""positive"
Rough-leg. Now I'm certain it was an immature Red-tail. I now use this
drawing in my beginning bird class to illustrate one (of many) pitfalls in
bird identification.

The end of August sees a few Rough-legs showing up in a typical year, with
more arriving every day through October and even into November.

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA