{"id":150378,"date":"2025-07-14T03:23:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T08:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=150378"},"modified":"2025-07-14T10:16:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T15:16:38","slug":"fluffed-up-adult-red-shouldered-hawk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/07\/14\/fluffed-up-adult-red-shouldered-hawk\/","title":{"rendered":"Fluffed Up Adult Red-shouldered Hawk"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was more than delighted to have a fluffed-up adult Red-shouldered Hawk in my viewfinder last week while I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

\"FluffedFluffed up adult Red-shouldered Hawk in a bottomland hardwood forest \u2013 Canon R7, beanbag, f8, 1\/800, ISO 1250, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I always think of Red-shouldered Hawks as forest hawks because that\u2019s typically where I find them, whether I\u2019m in Virginia, Florida, Oklahoma, Arkansas, or anywhere else in their range. If they needed another common name, that is what I would call them. Forest Hawks.<\/p>\n

I see adult Red-shouldered Hawks at the refuge regularly, but usually they\u2019re too far away or too skittish. Now, because I know this buteo species well, I\u2019m confident that if I could find young Red-shouldered Hawks, I could get closer to them than I can to the adults.<\/p>\n

Why do I say that? Because I\u2019ve had young Red-shouldered Hawks fly just over my head, close enough to feel the wind from their wings. I\u2019ve also had them land so near that I could have reached out and touched them.<\/p>\n

The young of this species strike me as fearless. Some might say I\u2019m anthropomorphizing when I use that description, but based on my experiences, fearless is the word that fits.<\/p>\n

Oh, and young Red-shouldered Hawks are very, very vocal. I’d know exactly where they are just by following their calls.<\/p>\n

This adult Red-shouldered Hawk<\/span><\/a> roused their feathers, allowed me to take a few photos, then promptly took flight to the other side of this massive tree. By tucking themselves away, I couldn\u2019t take any more photos of this woodland bird.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m grateful that I had him or her in my viewfinder for as long as I did. What a gift.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

I was more than delighted to have a fluffed-up adult Red-shouldered Hawk in my viewfinder last week while I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":150373,"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":[27,13973,882,13974],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-150378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-oklahoma","category-red-shouldered-hawks","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/red-shouldered-hawk-adult-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-2430.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-D7s","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":114224,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/07\/08\/young-red-shouldered-hawk-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":150378,"position":0},"title":"Young Red-shouldered Hawk at Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"When I photographed this young Red-shouldered Hawk at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge it had been fourteen years since I had this species in my viewfinder.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Red-shouldered Hawk in a hardwood forest in Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/red-shouldered-hawk-immature-forest-mia-mcpherson-3613.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/red-shouldered-hawk-immature-forest-mia-mcpherson-3613.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/red-shouldered-hawk-immature-forest-mia-mcpherson-3613.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/red-shouldered-hawk-immature-forest-mia-mcpherson-3613.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":167596,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/01\/26\/red-shouldered-hawk-in-a-snow-storm-in-oklahoma\/","url_meta":{"origin":150378,"position":1},"title":"Red-shouldered Hawk In A Snow Storm In Oklahoma","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 26, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the first birds I photographed during recent Winter Storm Fern was an adult Red-shouldered Hawk in a tree across the street while it was snowing hard.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Red-shouldered Hawk in a snow storm in Oklahoma, Sequoyah County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-shouldered-hawk-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-4654.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-shouldered-hawk-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-4654.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-shouldered-hawk-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-4654.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-shouldered-hawk-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-4654.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":139181,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/02\/03\/red-tailed-hawk-flying-over-bakers-field-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":150378,"position":2},"title":"Red-tailed Hawk flying over Baker’s Field at Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Three days ago, I wrote about the hawks at Baker's Field in Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. Today, I'm sharing photos of a Red-tailed Hawk flying there.","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Red-tailed Hawk flying over Baker's Field at Sequoyah NWR, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-flight-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-2831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-flight-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-2831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-flight-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-2831.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-flight-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-2831.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128539,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/17\/my-mom-would-have-been-92-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":150378,"position":3},"title":"My Mom Would Have Been 92 Today","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"My mom would have been 92 today. I miss her terribly, but she is with me in so many ways. She was also with me when I went to Tishomingo NWR last Saturday.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Heart shaped natural spotlight on a tree trunk at Tishomingo NWR, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/heart-spotlight-tree-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-9600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/heart-spotlight-tree-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-9600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/heart-spotlight-tree-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-9600.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/heart-spotlight-tree-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-9600.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":140218,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/02\/18\/two-wintertime-views-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":150378,"position":4},"title":"Two Wintertime Views At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent the morning at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge yesterday, and I have to say, the sunrise was simply glorious. It was pretty cold, too.","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Reeve's Slough wintertime view with ducks too, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sequoyah-nwr-winter-scenic-mia-mcpherson-C3235.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sequoyah-nwr-winter-scenic-mia-mcpherson-C3235.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sequoyah-nwr-winter-scenic-mia-mcpherson-C3235.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sequoyah-nwr-winter-scenic-mia-mcpherson-C3235.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31447,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/10\/31\/perched-red-shouldered-hawk-adult-at-myakka-river-state-park\/","url_meta":{"origin":150378,"position":5},"title":"Perched Red-shouldered Hawk adult at Myakka River State Park","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Back in early 2009 I was wandering with some friends in a hammock at Myakka River State Park, Florida when we came across this Red-shouldered Hawk.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Perched Red-shouldered Hawk adult at Myakka River State Park, Sarasota County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/red-shouldered-hawk-adult-mia-mcpherson-6408.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/red-shouldered-hawk-adult-mia-mcpherson-6408.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/red-shouldered-hawk-adult-mia-mcpherson-6408.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/red-shouldered-hawk-adult-mia-mcpherson-6408.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}