{"id":39717,"date":"2016-05-25T05:43:06","date_gmt":"2016-05-25T11:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=39717"},"modified":"2021-03-31T15:00:17","modified_gmt":"2021-03-31T21:00:17","slug":"warning-swainsons-hawks-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/05\/25\/warning-swainsons-hawks-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"Warning – Swainson’s Hawks Ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Swainson's<\/a>Swainson’s Hawk on Warning Sign – Nikon D810, f9, 1\/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Two days ago after I photographed the\u00a0three Short-eared Owl chicks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0I drove further north in Box Elder County<\/span><\/a> and came upon one Swainson’s Hawk after another perched on fence posts and signs along the road and flying above the fields to the east and west. I’d say within one mile there were at least 15 or more Swainson’s Hawks that I could see with my naked eyes.<\/p>\n

So when I photographed the adult Swainson’s Hawk above on a warning sign for buried cable I knew I had the title for this post.<\/p>\n

\"Swainson'sSwainson’s Hawk and a field of green – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

This Swainson’s Hawk seemed to have a paler head than the adults nearby or even those in my photo galleries so I wondered if this is a sub-adult about to go into adult plumage. Swainson’s Hawks do take several years to develop definitive basic plumage. I’ll leave the age of this Swainson’s Hawk to experts though.<\/p>\n

\"Regal<\/a>Regal Swainson’s Hawk – Nikon D810, f9, 1\/800, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost all of the hawks I saw on that little stretch of road were beautiful light morph adults like this regal Swainson’s Hawk perch on a rusty metal fence post.<\/p>\n

One thing I know for certain is that when the weather clears I know I am going to head back up there. And I will probably think about the title of this post… Warning – Swainson’s Hawks Ahead.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Swainson\u2019s Hawk photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One thing I know for certain is that when the weather clears I know I am going to head back up there. And I will probably think about the title of this post… Warning – Swainson’s Hawks Ahead. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39714,"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":[1148,206,26],"tags":[4004,2663,4200,2497,4033,4169,2386,4104,4394,153,4681,165,4034,5168],"class_list":["post-39717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-swainson-hawks","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-swainsoni","tag-buteos","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-perched","tag-post","tag-raptors","tag-sign","tag-spring","tag-swainsons-hawk","tag-warning-sign"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/swainsons-hawk-warning-sign-mia-mcpherson-3701.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-akB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":105569,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/08\/29\/dark-morph-swainsons-hawk-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":39717,"position":0},"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, 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Will Arrive Soon","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"It is almost time for me to see a seasonal switch of raptors here in northern Utah because the Rough-legged Hawks will leaving and the Swainson's will arrive soon.","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":"Rough-legged Hawk resting on a sign, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-sign-mia-mcpherson-2914.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-sign-mia-mcpherson-2914.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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on a rusty pole, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/swainsons-hawk-sub-adult-howell-mia-mcpherosn-5225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/swainsons-hawk-sub-adult-howell-mia-mcpherosn-5225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/swainsons-hawk-sub-adult-howell-mia-mcpherosn-5225.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/swainsons-hawk-sub-adult-howell-mia-mcpherosn-5225.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":85096,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/19\/spring-swainsons-hawk-in-sage\/","url_meta":{"origin":39717,"position":3},"title":"Spring Swainson’s Hawk In Sage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Swainson's Hawk that I spent the most time photographing was snuggled into the top of a sage and he was very calm and confiding.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Swainson's Hawk nestled into sage, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/swainsons-hawk-adult-sage-mia-mcpherson-6411.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/swainsons-hawk-adult-sage-mia-mcpherson-6411.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/swainsons-hawk-adult-sage-mia-mcpherson-6411.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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