{"id":56769,"date":"2019-03-22T06:39:51","date_gmt":"2019-03-22T12:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=56769"},"modified":"2026-01-21T14:08:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T20:08:19","slug":"rufous-morph-red-tailed-hawk-taking-flight-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/03\/22\/rufous-morph-red-tailed-hawk-taking-flight-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Rufous Morph Red-tailed Hawk Taking Flight Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RufousRufous morph Red-tailed Hawk crouching prior to lift off – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Three days ago I found the rufous Red-tailed Hawk again not far from where she and her mate are nesting, she isn’t always easy to find because with her coloration she blends in so well with the lichen-covered rocks of the cliffs.<\/p>\n

The female red tailed preened some, threw a pellet, shook, and after she let a stream of poop fly I knew she might be getting ready to lift off.<\/p>\n

When I saw her crouch down close to the rock she was perched on I knew that she was going to lift off and I was ready for the action.<\/p>\n

\"RufousRufous morph Red-tailed Hawk raising her wings prior to lift off – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

In this next photo the rufous Red-tailed Hawk was still crouching down but she had begun to lift her wings over her body. I love that I had great eye contact with this beautiful raptor.<\/p>\n

\"RufousRufous morph Red-tailed Hawk pushing off from her perch – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

By the time I took this next image in the series the Red-tailed Hawk had straightened her legs. Her wings were high over her body and she was pushing off from the rock.<\/p>\n

\"RufousRufous morph Red-tailed Hawk after lifting off – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

One frame later and the Red-tailed Hawk was in flight over the lichen-covered rocks of the cliff with her eyes on something in the distance.<\/p>\n

\"RufousRufous morph Red-tailed Hawk gaining altitude after lifting off – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

By the next frame the Red-tailed Hawk was gaining altitude and after this image was taken I had to twist in my seat and refocus to follow her in flight and then I clipped wing tips in every photo until she circled back and flew past me towards the east.<\/p>\n

I’m sure I will post more images of this beautiful Red-tailed Hawk<\/span><\/a> but for now this series of her taking flight is enough.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

To view more of my Red-tailed Hawk photos plus information about this species click here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By the time I took this next image in the series the Red-tailed Hawk had straightened her legs, her wings were high over her body and she was pushing off from the rock. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":151034,"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":[27,1148,449,26],"tags":[4004,7021,2663,4170,2497,4506,4070,4033,4169,2386,4282,4944,7022,7023,153,4209,6617,6489,7020,6952],"class_list":["post-56769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-red-tailed-hawks","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-altitude","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-jamaicensis","tag-buteos","tag-crouching","tag-female","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-lift-off","tag-lifting-off","tag-pushing-off","tag-raising-wings","tag-raptors","tag-red-tailed-hawk","tag-rufous","tag-rufous-morph","tag-sequence","tag-taking-flight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-lift-of-sequence-mia-mcpherson-3037.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-eLD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":57003,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/04\/01\/more-photos-of-the-rufous-red-tailed-hawk-female\/","url_meta":{"origin":56769,"position":0},"title":"More Photos Of The Rufous Red-tailed Hawk Female","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I had a great time photographing this beautiful rufous Red-tailed Hawk yesterday morning and I'm glad I had good light when I did.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Red-tailed Hawk lifting off from a cliff, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-5937.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-tailed-hawk-rufous-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-5937.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Red-tailed Hawk – Finally Some Photos in Good Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I have been trying to photograph this rufous morph Red-tailed Hawk in good light since the first time I spotted her on the 24th of March in northern Utah, yesterday I finally accomplished that goal.","rel":"","context":"In "Box Elder County"","block_context":{"text":"Box Elder County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/box-elder-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Big Red-tailed Hawk lifting off, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-9733.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-9733.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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This pose can be hard to capture.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-tailed Hawk in pre-lift off position, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-tailed-adult-rufous-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-8126.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-tailed-adult-rufous-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-8126.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-tailed-adult-rufous-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-8126.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-tailed-adult-rufous-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-8126.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56673,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/03\/17\/nesting-red-tailed-hawks-plus-guidelines-on-photographing-nesting-birds\/","url_meta":{"origin":56769,"position":4},"title":"Nesting Red-tailed Hawks – Plus Guidelines On Photographing Nesting Birds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm happy to see that the rufous female Red-tailed Hawk does have a mate and that they are building a nest to raise their young in, I hope they are successful.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Close up of a male Red-tailed Hawk in flight, Box Elder County, 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28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I wanted to share a few photos of a stunning rufous Red-tailed Hawk female that I photographed over a period of a couple of years.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female rufous Red-tailed Hawk stretching, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-female-stretching-mia-mcpherson-2832.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-female-stretching-mia-mcpherson-2832.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-female-stretching-mia-mcpherson-2832.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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