{"id":75711,"date":"2020-12-04T05:49:03","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T12:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=75711"},"modified":"2026-01-24T11:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T17:17:12","slug":"immature-red-tailed-hawk-harassed-by-a-northern-harrier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/12\/04\/immature-red-tailed-hawk-harassed-by-a-northern-harrier\/","title":{"rendered":"Immature Red-tailed Hawk Harassed By A Northern Harrier"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ImmatureImmature Red-tailed Hawk perched on a post in the marsh \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and spent 28 minutes photographing it including when a Northern Harrier harassed it. I’ll post more photos of this stunning young Red-tailed Hawk another day but today I wanted to share photos of it before, during, and after the Northern Harrier flew past it.<\/p>\n

In this photo the immature Red-tailed Hawk was resting on its perch while it looked around for prey in the marsh.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Red-tailed Hawk looking alert \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Then through my viewfinder I saw the young Red tail hunker down, flatten the feathers on its head and stare at something that was outside of my viewfinder. I started firing a burst of images because this young raptor’s behavior told me something was about to happen.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Red-tailed Hawk in a defensive posture \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

The posture of the immature Red-tailed Hawk changed again and became more defensive. At this point I kept firing shots in a burst.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Red-tailed Hawk after being harassed by a Northern Harrier \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Through my viewfinder I could see that it was a Northern Harrier that had flown in to harass the immature Red-tailed Hawk. Unfortunately all I caught of the harrier in any of my photos was its feet, talons, and tail.<\/p>\n

I didn’t crop this image as tight as the others in this post so that I could show the harrier in it.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature Red-tailed Hawk after a Northern Harrier flew over \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

After the harrier flew by the young Red-tailed Hawk settled back down and after a few seconds began to relax its posture.<\/p>\n

I don’t think this young Red-tailed Hawk<\/span><\/a> could have had a wider wide-eyed look after the harrier left!<\/p>\n

I wish I had been able to get more of the Northern Harrier in my photos but when you are photographing nature sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don’t.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

By the way, about two years ago I photographed another immature Red-tailed Hawk lifting off from this exact perch, it can be seen here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and spent 28 minutes photographing it including when a Northern Harrier harassed it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":167529,"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":[27,1022,697,348,449,26],"tags":[4540,2663,4170,2497,765,763,10685,2783,3164,4033,4169,2386,4067,4094,10684,6613,4006,4104,4059,6428,5497,4394,153,5414,4209,10686,373,4193],"class_list":["post-75711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-northern-harriers","category-red-tailed-hawks","category-utah","tag-alert","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-jamaicensis","tag-buteos","tag-circus-hudsonius","tag-defensive-posture","tag-harassed","tag-harrier","tag-harriers","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-immature","tag-marsh","tag-metal-pole","tag-metal-post","tag-northern-harrier","tag-perched","tag-phragmites","tag-phrags","tag-pole","tag-post","tag-raptors","tag-red-tail","tag-red-tailed-hawk","tag-wide-eyed","tag-winter","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-marsh-mia-mcpherson-7624.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-jH9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":108469,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/04\/immature-red-tailed-hawk-in-a-safety-zone\/","url_meta":{"origin":75711,"position":0},"title":"Immature Red-tailed Hawk In A Safety Zone","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"About two years ago, I photographed this immature Red-tailed Hawk resting above a safety zone sign at Farmington Bay WMA on a cold morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern Harrier dive bombing an immature Red-tailed Hawk, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-safety-zone-mia-mcpherson-0191.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-safety-zone-mia-mcpherson-0191.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":"Immature Red-tailed Hawk on a nest box in early morning light, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-nestbox-mia-mcpherson-0726.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-nestbox-mia-mcpherson-0726.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-nestbox-mia-mcpherson-0726.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-nestbox-mia-mcpherson-0726.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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McPherson","date":"December 25, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"On this Christmas morning, I am sharing a photo of a young female Northern Harrier in flight that I took exactly three years ago at Farmington Bay WMA.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Christmas Day young Northern Harrier, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/northern-harrier-hatch-year-female-flight-mia-mcpherson-2819.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/northern-harrier-hatch-year-female-flight-mia-mcpherson-2819.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Yesterday that bird was an immature Red-tailed Hawk at Farmington Bay WMA that lifted off from a metal post and flew over the marsh.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Red-tailed Hawk lifting off from a metal pole, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-7633.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-7633.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-7633.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-7633.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6577,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/11\/14\/northern-harrier-chasing-a-juvenile-red-tailed-hawk\/","url_meta":{"origin":75711,"position":5},"title":"Northern Harrier Chasing A Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This image of a Northern Harrier and a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in an aerial dogfight over Antelope Island State Park was taken the day before the recent snow storm started that we had here in the Salt Lake Valley over the weekend.","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":"Northern Harrier chasing a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-northern-harrier-mia-mcpherson-7123.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-northern-harrier-mia-mcpherson-7123.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-northern-harrier-mia-mcpherson-7123.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-northern-harrier-mia-mcpherson-7123.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\/75711","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=75711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}