{"id":79672,"date":"2021-02-22T05:43:20","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T12:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=79672"},"modified":"2022-04-20T21:22:12","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T03:22:12","slug":"ferruginous-and-rough-legged-hawk-lift-off-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/02\/22\/ferruginous-and-rough-legged-hawk-lift-off-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Ferruginous And Rough-legged Hawk Lift Off Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday morning I was able to take Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawk lift off photos where both of the raptors still had their feet on their perches.<\/p>\n

Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawks are the only buteos in North America that have feathered legs down to their feet.<\/p>\n

Ferruginous Hawk lifting off<\/h2>\n

\"FirstFirst winter Ferruginous Hawk lifting off with its feet still on the pole \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 640, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

This light morph, first winter Ferruginous Hawk was perched on a power pole when I first spotted it.<\/p>\n

Because this is an immature, light morph Ferruginous Hawk its feathered tarsi, or legs, aren’t as visible as they would have been if this young hawk had been an adult. The feathered legs of adult Ferruginous Hawks are darker and rustier. This first winter Ferruginous Hawk only shows a smidgen of that rusty color on its legs even though its feathered legs are clearly visible.<\/p>\n

Ferruginous Hawks are year round residents in northern Utah. I feel fortunate to have seen and photographed them every month of the year.<\/p>\n

Rough-legged Hawk lifting off<\/h2>\n

\"AdultAdult male Rough-legged Hawk lifting off with its feet still on a rock \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 640, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier in the morning I photographed an adult male, light morph Rough-legged Hawk. He was in nearly the same pose as the young Ferruginous Hawk when he was taking off. Both of the raptors had their wings lifted over their bodies with their feet still planted firmly on their perches.<\/p>\n

The dark feathered legs of this male Rough-legged Hawk stand out nicely from the blue sky in the background. I have seen adult male Rough-legged Hawks with lighter colored feathers on their legs.<\/p>\n

Rough-legged Hawks are winter visitors to northern Utah. They will be leaving soon for their breeding grounds on the Arctic tundra and taiga.<\/p>\n

Taking photos of hawks at the precise moment they lift their wings above their bodies and start to lift off while their feet are still on their perch is still a thrill for me even after all the years I have had them in my viewfinder. Doing it twice in one day? That’s an even bigger thrill.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to view more of my Ferruginous Hawk photos plus facts and information about that species. Click here<\/span><\/a> to view more of my Rough-legged Hawk photos plus facts and information about that species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday morning I was able to take Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawk lift off photos where both of the raptors still had their feet on their perches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"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":[27,1069,1087,358,26,1314],"tags":[4004,2663,4275,4268,2497,2414,2413,7229,2092,2450,4033,4169,2386,4067,6220,4282,4944,2670,4062,5165,153,4921,4470,1648,4018,3792,5428,4193],"class_list":["post-79672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-avian","category-ferruginous-hawks","category-rough-legged-hawks","category-tooele-county","category-utah","category-west-desert-utah","tag-adult","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-lagopus","tag-buteo-regalis","tag-buteos","tag-feathered-legs","tag-feathered-tarsi","tag-feet","tag-ferruginous-hawk","tag-first-winter","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-immature","tag-legs","tag-lift-off","tag-lifting-off","tag-light-morph","tag-male","tag-power-pole","tag-raptors","tag-rock","tag-rocks","tag-rough-legged-hawk","tag-sky","tag-take-off","tag-taking-off","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-kJ2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":49324,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/11\/07\/feathered-tarsi-ferruginous-rough-legged-hawks-have-feathered-legs\/","url_meta":{"origin":79672,"position":0},"title":"Feathered Tarsi – Ferruginous & Rough-legged Hawks Have Feathered Legs","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"North America has two hawk (buteos) species that have feathered tarsi, or legs, those two species are Ferruginous Hawks and Rough-legged Hawks.","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":"Ferruginous Hawk showing its feathered legs (tarsi), West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/ferruginous-hawk-flight-mia-mcpherson-4949.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/ferruginous-hawk-flight-mia-mcpherson-4949.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Rough-legged Hawk Surveying The Foothills Of The Stansbury Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been four years since I photographed this gorgeous male Rough-legged Hawk as he surveyed the foothills of the Stansbury Mountains in Utah's West Desert.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Rough-legged Hawk in the West Desert of Utah, Tooele County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/rough-legged-hawk-adult-male-fence-post-utah-mia-mcpherson-6308.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/rough-legged-hawk-adult-male-fence-post-utah-mia-mcpherson-6308.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/rough-legged-hawk-adult-male-fence-post-utah-mia-mcpherson-6308.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/rough-legged-hawk-adult-male-fence-post-utah-mia-mcpherson-6308.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7286,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/01\/27\/immature-red-tailed-rough-legged-ferruginous-and-swainsons-hawks\/","url_meta":{"origin":79672,"position":3},"title":"Immature Red-tailed, Rough-legged, Ferruginous and Swainson’s Hawks","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I thought I would post images of the juvenile Buteos that I see most often in Utah and Montana, they are Red-tailed, Rough-legged, Ferruginous and Swainson's Hawks.","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":"Red-tailed Hawk juvenile and an intense stare, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-5148.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-5148.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-5148.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-5148.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Morph Ferruginous Hawk In The West Desert","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Four years ago today, I found this gorgeous dark morph Ferruginous Hawk perched on a juniper fence post in the West Desert. 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