{"id":6085,"date":"2012-09-09T06:49:53","date_gmt":"2012-09-09T12:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=6085"},"modified":"2025-12-18T07:19:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T13:19:17","slug":"more-raptor-rapture-red-tailed-hawk-juvenile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/09\/09\/more-raptor-rapture-red-tailed-hawk-juvenile\/","title":{"rendered":"More Raptor Rapture – Red-tailed Hawk Juvenile"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JuvieYoung Red-tailed Hawk about to land about to land – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 350mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

These juvenile Red-tailed Hawk images were taken on two consecutive days last week. I’m always excited to have a bird in my view finder and when I can photograph hawks for two days in a row… I feel raptor rapture.<\/p>\n

A Red-tailed Hawk juvenile does not have the namesake “red-tail”; they will develop that as they mature, but they have the same beauty and\u00a0power\u00a0that the adults do.<\/p>\n

\"JuvenileJuvenile Red-tailed Hawk coming in for a landing – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 328mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately for me on the two days I photographed this hawk it was intent on hunting and paid no mind to my presence as I focused on it from inside a vehicle. It would perch for a bit while it scanned for prey and then swoop down into the grasses to search for it.<\/p>\n

\"JuvenileJuvenile Red-tailed perching on Farmington Complex rocks – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

It is said that Red-tailed Hawks can spot a rodent from 100 feet in the air which to me is amazing because quite often there will be grasses or other vegetation that could partially obstruct the view of the prey. That is probably why a person with keen eyesight could earn the nickname “Hawk Eye”.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Red-tailed Hawk – The moment of lift off – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

By carefully observing this immature Red-tailed Hawk’s behavior, body movements, and by paying attention to its eyes I was able to anticipate when it would lift off. Learning how to do that is important for those action shots.<\/p>\n

\"LookFocused look of determination on a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

“Focus” is a word I often think of when I am watching raptors hunt because it appears to me that they are entirely focused on their prey; after all, their lives depend entirely on their hunting skills. This immature bird seemed to miss more than it actually captured but it will develop better skills as it ages.<\/p>\n

\"JuvenileJuvenile Red-tailed looking at a new perch – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/2500, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 321mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I watched as this keen-eyed youngster located, captured, and ate a small snake. I don’t have any images of it swallowing the snake because it was too far away and my view was obstructed by tall grasses and Moth Mullein stems. That was a disappointment, I would have loved to have had those images in my portfolio.<\/p>\n

\"Red-tailedRed-tailed juvenile flying past a dark rock face – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/3200, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 321mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Look at those talons, the sharp hooked bill and the feathers that are built just right for carrying this handsome young Red-tailed Hawk through the air to capture and devour its prey.\u00a0This is<\/em> perfection.<\/p>\n

\"Red-tailedBack view of the young Red-tailed Hawk and its shadow – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Normally I don’t keep images without eye contact from my subject but in this image I was fascinated by the landing pose, the great view of the spread wings, fanned tail, the intricate plumage patterns, and the shadow below the hawk.<\/p>\n

I am hoping that this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk<\/span><\/a> and it’s darker and more elusive sibling will continue to stick around the area where I located them so that I may have more “face melting” opportunities with these incredible birds. Yeah, they make my face melt from smiling so much.<\/p>\n

I’m looking forward to more Raptor Rapture!<\/p>\n

Life is 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":"

These juvenile Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) images were taken on two consecutive days last week. I’m always excited to have a bird in my view finder and when I can photograph hawks for two days in a row… I feel raptor rapture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":165972,"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":[511,1022,449,26],"tags":[2663,4170,4052,4122,8434,4169,4067,4071,4123,4282,4104,153,4209,1949],"class_list":["post-6085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-davis-county-utah","category-red-tailed-hawks","category-utah","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-jamaicensis","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-focused","tag-hawks","tag-immature","tag-juvenile","tag-landing","tag-lift-off","tag-perched","tag-raptors","tag-red-tailed-hawk","tag-western-red-tailed-hawk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-flight-mia-mcpherson-5122.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1A9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8516,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/04\/red-tailed-hawks-buteo-jamaicensis\/","url_meta":{"origin":6085,"position":0},"title":"Red-tailed Hawks – Buteo Jamaicensis","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Buteos are medium to large hawks with broad wings, wide bodies and short tails that soar in wide lazy circles and most often hunt from a high perch from which they drop down to their prey.","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":"Adult Red-tailed Hawk in flight with prey, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-mia-mcpherson-7072.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-adult-mia-mcpherson-7072.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-mia-mcpherson-7072.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-mia-mcpherson-7072.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6053,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/09\/05\/juvenile-red-tailed-hawk-in-landing-pose\/","url_meta":{"origin":6085,"position":1},"title":"Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk In Landing Pose","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I had fun yesterday photographing this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) as it perched on rocks and hunted for prey. This image shows the Red-tailed coming in for a landing.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Landing juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-mia-mcpherson-4237.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-mia-mcpherson-4237.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-mia-mcpherson-4237.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-harlans-mia-mcpherson-3978.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-harlans-mia-mcpherson-3978.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-harlans-mia-mcpherson-3978.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-harlans-mia-mcpherson-3978.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120820,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/02\/10\/young-red-tailed-hawk-up-close\/","url_meta":{"origin":6085,"position":3},"title":"Young Red-tailed Hawk Up Close","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The day I photographed this young Red-tailed Hawk, I took 135 images of the immature raptor in just a little over a minute at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.","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":"Young Red-tailed Hawk up close, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-portrait-mia-mcpherson-1156.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-tailed-hawk-immature-portrait-mia-mcpherson-1156.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-portrait-mia-mcpherson-1156.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-portrait-mia-mcpherson-1156.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5396,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/07\/24\/juvenile-red-tailed-hawk-in-beaverhead-county-montana\/","url_meta":{"origin":6085,"position":4},"title":"Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in Beaverhead County, Montana","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"These images of a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in Beaverhead County were taken on Sunday morning, June 22nd while leaving southwestern Montana to head back to Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead 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