{"id":78456,"date":"2021-01-28T06:19:36","date_gmt":"2021-01-28T13:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=78456"},"modified":"2026-01-24T13:59:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T19:59:38","slug":"rufous-red-tailed-hawk-female-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/01\/28\/rufous-red-tailed-hawk-female-memories\/","title":{"rendered":"Rufous Red-tailed Hawk Female Memories"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FemaleFemale rufous Red-tailed Hawk stretching \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

It has been 8 days since I have been out into the field primarily due to cloudy weather and a few days because the weather forecasters were wrong. As a result of being stuck at home I have sorting through some of my older images that I took on warmer, bird-filled days.<\/p>\n

I have many wonderful memories of this rufous Red-tailed Hawk female on her own, with her mate, and as she raised her young. This particular hawk has been seen on my site previously, these photos of her haven’t been and were taken in March of 2019.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult female Red-tailed Hawk resting on a cliff \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

There were a couple of times that had it not been for my keen eyesight I might have missed her perched on the rocks and cliff faces because with her rufous coloration she blended right in. Thankfully I was able to find, admire, and photograph her many times on many mornings.<\/p>\n

Red-tailed Hawk nesting season is not so far away now. They will begin building or rebuilding their nests soon.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Red-tailed Hawk flying over a shrub \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/5000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope that I will be able to see and photograph this rufous Red-tailed Hawk<\/span><\/a> again this spring and summer simply because she is such a gorgeous bird. At rest, stretching, on the nest, eating, hunting, or in flight, this striking hawk has always taken my breath away.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":136794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,1148,449,26],"tags":[4004,2663,4008,3489,4170,5131,5100,4098,4070,4052,4122,4033,4169,2386,153,4209,4156,6617,6188,4826,3964,30],"class_list":["post-78456","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-birds-of-prey","tag-box-elder-county","tag-buteo","tag-buteo-jamaicensis","tag-cliff","tag-cliff-face","tag-desert","tag-female","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-raptors","tag-red-tailed-hawk","tag-resting","tag-rufous","tag-shrub","tag-stretch","tag-stretching","tag-utah-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-female-stretching-mia-mcpherson-2832.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-kpq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":111219,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/15\/red-tailed-hawk-pre-lift-off\/","url_meta":{"origin":78456,"position":0},"title":"Red-tailed Hawk Pre-Lift Off","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been about four years since I photographed this rufous Red-tailed Hawk in in a pre-lift off pose way up in northern Utah. 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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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"Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rufous morph Red-tailed Hawk pushing off from her perch, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-lift-of-sequence-mia-mcpherson-3037.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-lift-of-sequence-mia-mcpherson-3037.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-lift-of-sequence-mia-mcpherson-3037.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-lift-of-sequence-mia-mcpherson-3037.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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