{"id":39094,"date":"2016-05-01T05:20:08","date_gmt":"2016-05-01T11:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=39094"},"modified":"2026-03-06T11:11:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T17:11:17","slug":"red-tailed-hawk-lift-off-with-nesting-material-in-northern-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/05\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-lift-off-with-nesting-material-in-northern-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Red-tailed Hawk Lift Off with Nesting Material in Northern Utah"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Red-tailedRed-tailed Hawk lift off with nesting material – Nikon D810, f8, 1\/2500, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I took this image about two weeks ago in northern Utah and I am hoping that the Red-tailed Hawks are about half way through incubating their eggs now.<\/p>\n

Because I don’t want to disturb nesting Red-tailed Hawks, or any other species for that matter, I haven’t been near the nest in almost two weeks . I hope that they will raise two or three chicks and increase the population of Red-tailed Hawks.<\/p>\n

I am not sure why the Red-tailed Hawk lifted off with nesting material in its bill from the nest, maybe the hawk felt that piece of nesting material wasn’t suitable. I’ve seen ospreys do the same thing in Florida.<\/p>\n

I liked the wing position of the hawk that shows the intricate patterns under the wing, the eye contact and the textures on the cliff wall behind the hawk.<\/p>\n

I hope the Red-tailed Hawks<\/span><\/a> have been able to keep their eggs warm and dry the past few weeks given all of the rain that we have had here in northern Utah.<\/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":"

I am not sure why the Red-tailed Hawk lifted off with nesting material in its bill from the nest, maybe the hawk felt that piece of nesting material wasn’t suitable. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":166984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1148,449,26],"tags":[4004,2663,4170,5131,5100,4098,4169,2386,4282,4182,11852,153,5130,4209,165],"class_list":["post-39094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-red-tailed-hawks","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-jamaicensis","tag-cliff","tag-cliff-face","tag-desert","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-lift-off","tag-nesting-material","tag-ranchlands","tag-raptors","tag-red-tailed","tag-red-tailed-hawk","tag-spring"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-9553.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-aay","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":100286,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/02\/28\/desert-red-tailed-hawk-it-is-nest-building-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":39094,"position":0},"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, 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"Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-tailed Hawk on the nest in Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-nest-mia-mcpherson-0785.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-nest-mia-mcpherson-0785.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-nest-mia-mcpherson-0785.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-nest-mia-mcpherson-0785.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-male-light-morph-mia-mcpherson-9672.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-male-light-morph-mia-mcpherson-9672.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-male-light-morph-mia-mcpherson-9672.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-male-light-morph-mia-mcpherson-9672.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":67440,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/03\/28\/red-tailed-hawk-nesting-season-has-begun\/","url_meta":{"origin":39094,"position":3},"title":"Red-tailed Hawk Nesting Season Has Begun!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The female Red-tailed Hawk blended into the lichen covered cliff face so well that even with my sharp eyesight I didn't see her until the male landed next to her.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Red-tailed Hawk leaping off of a cliff face, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/red-tailed-hawk-female-cliff-face-mia-mcpherson-9472.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/red-tailed-hawk-female-cliff-face-mia-mcpherson-9472.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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"Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Red-tailed Hawk in its nest in the Fall, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-nest-fall-mia-mcpherson-4407.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-nest-fall-mia-mcpherson-4407.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-nest-fall-mia-mcpherson-4407.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-nest-fall-mia-mcpherson-4407.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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