{"id":111219,"date":"2023-03-15T05:42:05","date_gmt":"2023-03-15T11:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=111219"},"modified":"2023-03-15T05:42:28","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T11:42:28","slug":"red-tailed-hawk-pre-lift-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/15\/red-tailed-hawk-pre-lift-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Red-tailed Hawk Pre-Lift Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been about four years since I photographed this rufous Red-tailed Hawk in in a pre-lift off pose way up in northern Utah. This pose can be hard to capture. My timing has to be prefect to get the feet still on the perch and the wings fully extended.<\/p>\n

\"Red-tailedRed-tailed Hawk in pre-lift off position \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m not sure why I didn’t share this Red-tailed Hawk photo in the post I had done on the hawk<\/span><\/a> four years ago. I really, really like this image. Some times I get so many wonderful images of my subjects that I don’t share them all and that is probably the case with this sharp-looking buteo.<\/p>\n

I decided to share this photo this morning because Red-tailed Hawks are a favorite bird of my oldest son, William. He loves all birds, but this hawk species is special to him. The reason I am sharing this Red-tailed Hawk<\/span><\/a> today is that it is William’s birthday.<\/p>\n

William always seemed to be in a lift off pose when he was little, or maybe I should say younger. He walked, no ran, at only nine months old and I swear he hasn’t slowed down since then. Always curious, always on the go, always looking for the next thing or place to explore.<\/p>\n

William, you can soar as high as this Red-tailed Hawk! Happy Birthday! I love you.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Red-tailed Hawk photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been about four years since I photographed this rufous Red-tailed Hawk in in a pre-lift off pose way up in northern Utah. This pose can be hard to capture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":111213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1148,449,26],"tags":[4004,2663,4008,4170,11213,2497,4098,4109,4033,4169,2386,9979,4282,13750,153,5414,4209,4470,6617,4018,3792,30,373],"class_list":["post-111219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-red-tailed-hawks","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-box-elder-county","tag-buteo-jamaicensis","tag-buteo-jamaicensis-calurus","tag-buteos","tag-desert","tag-grasses","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-lichens","tag-lift-off","tag-pre-lift-off","tag-raptors","tag-red-tail","tag-red-tailed-hawk","tag-rocks","tag-rufous","tag-sky","tag-take-off","tag-utah-2","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-tailed-adult-rufous-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-8126.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-sVR","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":56769,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/03\/22\/rufous-morph-red-tailed-hawk-taking-flight-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":111219,"position":0},"title":"Rufous Morph Red-tailed Hawk Taking Flight Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"By the time I took this next image in the series the Red-tailed Hawk had straightened her legs, her wings were high over her body and she was pushing off from the rock.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rufous morph Red-tailed Hawk pushing off from her perch, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-lift-of-sequence-mia-mcpherson-3037.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-lift-of-sequence-mia-mcpherson-3037.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-lift-of-sequence-mia-mcpherson-3037.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-lift-of-sequence-mia-mcpherson-3037.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107573,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/10\/28\/desert-red-tailed-hawk-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":111219,"position":1},"title":"Desert Red-tailed Hawk Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was up in far northern Utah looking for birds last week, I took quite a few Red-tailed Hawk photos. I shared one image a few days ago and here are a few more.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Red-tailed Hawk taking off from a cliff, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-desert-mia-mcpherson-2032.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-desert-mia-mcpherson-2032.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-desert-mia-mcpherson-2032.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I wanted to share a few photos of a stunning rufous Red-tailed Hawk female that I photographed over a period of a couple of years.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female rufous Red-tailed Hawk stretching, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-female-stretching-mia-mcpherson-2832.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-female-stretching-mia-mcpherson-2832.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-female-stretching-mia-mcpherson-2832.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I keep wondering if I will see this big, gorgeous, rufous Red-tailed Hawk female in my viewfinder again this year.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rufous Red-tailed Hawk female flying past me, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-female-on-the-wing-mia-mcpherson-5722.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-female-on-the-wing-mia-mcpherson-5722.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-female-on-the-wing-mia-mcpherson-5722.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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