{"id":26317,"date":"2015-07-04T06:04:30","date_gmt":"2015-07-04T12:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=26317"},"modified":"2026-02-02T07:18:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T13:18:01","slug":"a-pair-of-swainsons-hawks-in-beaverhead-county-montana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/07\/04\/a-pair-of-swainsons-hawks-in-beaverhead-county-montana\/","title":{"rendered":"Pair of Swainson’s Hawks in Beaverhead County, Montana"},"content":{"rendered":"

Swainson’s Hawks<\/h2>\n

\"RestingResting female Swainson’s Hawk – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I am itching to get back out in the field with Swainson’s Hawks partly because they are handsome raptors and partly because by now there might be some young that have fledged. I don’t know if the pair of hawks in these photographs had success raising young but I know I sure hope they did. This female sure is a beauty!<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Swainson’s Hawk scratching her head – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Swainson’s Hawks are only in the area to breed and raise their young and they spend the rest of the year in South America.\u00a0 There are times when I am photographing them that I almost feel a sense of urgency where with Red-tailed Hawks that are in Utah year round I don’t have that urgent feeling.<\/p>\n

\"Swainson'sSwainson’s Hawk male on an old fence post – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I enjoyed photographing this pair of Swainson’s Hawks in Beaverhead County but I really love photographing the juveniles because they appear to be very interested in the world around them.<\/p>\n

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

Happy Independence Day!<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

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

I am itching to get back out in the field with Swainson’s Hawks partly because they are handsome raptors and partly because by now there might be some young that have fledged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1513,27,12,206],"tags":[4004,2663,4200,2497,4070,4033,4169,4062,2139,4104,153,4541,2315,4034,5434],"class_list":["post-26317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beaverhead-county-montana","category-avian","category-montana","category-swainson-hawks","tag-adult","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-swainsoni","tag-buteos","tag-female","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-male","tag-pair","tag-perched","tag-raptors","tag-scratching","tag-summer-3","tag-swainsons-hawk","tag-valley"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/swainsons-hawk-scratching-mia-mcpherson-7400.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-6Qt","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23272,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/05\/06\/mating-swainsons-hawks-in-beaverhead-county\/","url_meta":{"origin":26317,"position":0},"title":"Mating Swainson’s Hawks in Beaverhead County","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Three days ago I felt fortunate to come across a mated pair of Swainson's Hawks in Beaverhead County, Montana, the male was an intermediate morph and the female was a light morph.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A male Swainson's Hawk in Beaverhead County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/swainsons-hawk-thumbnail-mia-mcpherson-7418.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/swainsons-hawk-thumbnail-mia-mcpherson-7418.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/swainsons-hawk-thumbnail-mia-mcpherson-7418.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":67742,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/03\/31\/swainsons-hawk-chicks-sub-adult-and-adults\/","url_meta":{"origin":26317,"position":1},"title":"Swainson’s Hawk Chicks, Sub-adult And Adults","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 31, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"These are the life stages of the Swainson's Hawks I see, observe and photograph here in Utah, Idaho and Montana.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Two Swainson's Hawk chicks on their nest tree, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/swainsons-hawk-chicks-nest-mia-mcpherson-3125.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/swainsons-hawk-chicks-nest-mia-mcpherson-3125.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/swainsons-hawk-chicks-nest-mia-mcpherson-3125.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/swainsons-hawk-chicks-nest-mia-mcpherson-3125.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":105569,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/08\/29\/dark-morph-swainsons-hawk-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":26317,"position":2},"title":"Dark Morph Swainson’s Hawk Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Early yesterday morning on my way to the auto tour route at Bear River MBR I was delighted to see and photograph not just one dark morph Swainson's Hawk but two.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult dark morph Swainson's Hawk in lift off pose, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/swainsons-hawk-adult-dark-morph-mia-mcpherson-8199.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/swainsons-hawk-adult-dark-morph-mia-mcpherson-8199.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/swainsons-hawk-adult-dark-morph-mia-mcpherson-8199.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/swainsons-hawk-adult-dark-morph-mia-mcpherson-8199.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13195,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/01\/11\/an-adult-swainsons-hawk-and-its-young-in-montana\/","url_meta":{"origin":26317,"position":3},"title":"An adult Swainson’s Hawk and its young in Montana","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I can barely wait until spring when the Swainson's Hawks will migrate back from South America to fill the skies here with their beauty.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Swainson's Hawks and their nest","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/swainsons-hawk-nest-mia-mcpherson-3121.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/swainsons-hawk-nest-mia-mcpherson-3121.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/swainsons-hawk-nest-mia-mcpherson-3121.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6006,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/08\/28\/juvenile-swainsons-hawk-in-beaverhead-county-montana\/","url_meta":{"origin":26317,"position":4},"title":"Juvenile Swainson’s Hawk in Beaverhead County, Montana","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Not only did I see numerous Red-tailed Hawk juveniles on my recent trip to Montana, I also saw quite a few Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) juveniles too.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Swainson\u2019s Hawk juvenile, intermediate morph, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/swainsons-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-2259.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/swainsons-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-2259.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/swainsons-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-2259.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/swainsons-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-2259.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21472,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/04\/08\/return-of-the-swainsons-hawks\/","url_meta":{"origin":26317,"position":5},"title":"Return of the Swainson’s Hawks","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I saw my first of the season Swainson's Hawk not too far from the visitor's center at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge and that got me excited.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sub-adult Swainson\u2019s Hawk, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/swainsons-hawk-sub-adult-mia-mcpherson-7348.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/swainsons-hawk-sub-adult-mia-mcpherson-7348.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/swainsons-hawk-sub-adult-mia-mcpherson-7348.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/swainsons-hawk-sub-adult-mia-mcpherson-7348.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\/26317","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=26317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}