{"id":116873,"date":"2023-10-09T03:55:49","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T09:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=116873"},"modified":"2023-10-19T03:13:49","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T09:13:49","slug":"red-tailed-hawk-on-a-west-desert-weather-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/10\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-on-a-west-desert-weather-station\/","title":{"rendered":"Red-tailed Hawk On A West Desert Weather Station"},"content":{"rendered":"

A West Desert weather station wasn’t the prettiest perch, but that is where I found this handsome Red-tailed Hawk last week when I went looking for birds.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Red-tailed Hawk on a West Desert weather station \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 500, +1.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I spotted the hawk from half a mile or more away and hoped that the regal raptor would stay put until I was able to drive over to the bird. My timing was great, because the adult Red-tailed stuck around.<\/p>\n

The Red-tailed Hawk<\/span><\/a> was using the weather station perch to survey the grassy foothills for prey. Several times, it appeared as if the beautiful buteo might lift off to go after breakfast, but she or he stayed put.<\/p>\n

I took quite a few images of this bird of prey. This year has been strange for me, and I couldn’t remember how long it had been since I last photographed this species.<\/p>\n

Even though I didn’t care for the perch much at all, I couldn’t resist having the hawk in my viewfinder. Why would I, anyway?<\/p>\n

The sky was bright blue, the air was clear, the temperature was crisp and cool. I was outdoors enjoying nature, peace, solitude, and gorgeous views.<\/p>\n

There was a bird in my viewfinder. I know I’m a lucky woman to be able to do what I love doing. Sometimes I just need to remind myself of that fact.<\/p>\n

This Red-tailed Hawk was the last bird I photographed that morning in the West Desert. The first bird I took images of was a different Red-tailed Hawk. It was a great day to be out in the field enjoying nature.<\/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":"

A West Desert weather station wasn’t the prettiest perch, but that is where I found this handsome Red-tailed Hawk last week when I went looking for birds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":116868,"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":[27,449,358,26,1314],"tags":[4004,970,2663,4170,2497,4098,4620,7017,4033,4169,4104,153,4209,4018,10452,14436],"class_list":["post-116873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-red-tailed-hawks","category-tooele-county","category-utah","category-west-desert-utah","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-jamaicensis","tag-buteos","tag-desert","tag-fall","tag-foothills","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-perched","tag-raptors","tag-red-tailed-hawk","tag-sky","tag-sky-island-mountains","tag-weather-station"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-weather-station-mia-mcpherson-2185.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-up3","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":106793,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/10\/04\/red-tailed-hawk-waiting-for-the-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":116873,"position":0},"title":"Red-tailed Hawk Waiting For The Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"My favorite of the hawks I photographed in the West Desert yesterday was this adult Red-tailed Hawk on a fence post waiting for the morning light.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-tailed Hawk waiting for the morning light, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-before-dawns-light-mia-mcpherson-8034.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-before-dawns-light-mia-mcpherson-8034.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-before-dawns-light-mia-mcpherson-8034.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-before-dawns-light-mia-mcpherson-8034.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":105685,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/09\/11\/immature-red-tailed-hawk-in-the-west-desert\/","url_meta":{"origin":116873,"position":1},"title":"Immature Red-tailed Hawk In The West Desert","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Last month while I wandered in the West Desert I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk perched on a wooden fence post in the foothills of some sky island mountains.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Red-tailed Hawk preening a single feather, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-post-mia-mcpherson-2322.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-post-mia-mcpherson-2322.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-post-mia-mcpherson-2322.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-post-mia-mcpherson-2322.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":116873,"position":2},"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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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-mia-mcpherson-8938.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-mia-mcpherson-8938.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-mia-mcpherson-8938.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-mia-mcpherson-8938.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":100286,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/02\/28\/desert-red-tailed-hawk-it-is-nest-building-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":116873,"position":4},"title":"Desert Red-tailed Hawk – It Is Nest Building Time","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Among the birds I found was a desert dwelling Red-tailed Hawk adult who was busy refurbishing a nest on a cliff face.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-tailed Hawk resting on a cliff face in bitter cold temps, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-cliff-face-desert-mia-mcpherson-5336.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-cliff-face-desert-mia-mcpherson-5336.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-cliff-face-desert-mia-mcpherson-5336.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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