{"id":82025,"date":"2021-03-22T05:33:30","date_gmt":"2021-03-22T11:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=82025"},"modified":"2026-01-24T15:01:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T21:01:32","slug":"mated-red-tailed-hawk-pair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/03\/22\/mated-red-tailed-hawk-pair\/","title":{"rendered":"Mated Red-tailed Hawk Pair"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"LightLight morph Red-tailed Hawk pair \u2013 Nikon D500, f11, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week I spotted and photographed a mated Red-tailed Hawk pair on the branches of a tree in front of a cliff in early morning light. The hawks most likely slept on the branches overnight in a location not too far from the nest that they are refurbishing for this breeding season. The male Red-tailed Hawk is at the top and the female is below him in the tree in this photo.<\/p>\n

The male looks a bit darker from the dorsal aspect presented here and he is also smaller than the female.<\/p>\n

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

The female Red-tailed Hawk preened in the morning light along with her mate. Both birds seemed to enjoy the warmth of the rising sun after a cool night.<\/p>\n

I know I was enjoying the sun’s warmth myself. Even though I photograph birds all winter long the cold temps can make me feel very uncomfortable at times.<\/p>\n

I don’t know what the female was looking at when I took this photo but she sure seemed to be watching something with intensity.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Red-tailed Hawk looking for nesting material \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

After a long preening session the male Red-tailed Hawk started searching for nesting material to add to their nest. This image was taken on his second foray to look for branches and vegetation for the nest. He lifted off and flew to another spot higher on the cliff.<\/p>\n

Photographing this mated pair of Western Red-tailed Hawks<\/span><\/a> (Buteo jamaicensis calurus<\/em>) was the highlight of my morning.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> 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":"

Last week I spotted and photographed a mated Red-tailed Hawk pair on the branches of a tree in front of a cliff in early morning light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":133749,"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":[4004,2663,4170,11213,5131,5100,4070,4033,4169,2386,2670,4062,2240,2138,4099,4182,2139,4104,153,4209],"class_list":["post-82025","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-buteo-jamaicensis","tag-buteo-jamaicensis-calurus","tag-cliff","tag-cliff-face","tag-female","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-light-morph","tag-male","tag-mated-pair","tag-mates","tag-morning-light","tag-nesting-material","tag-pair","tag-perched","tag-raptors","tag-red-tailed-hawk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-male-light-morph-mia-mcpherson-9672.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-lkZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67440,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/03\/28\/red-tailed-hawk-nesting-season-has-begun\/","url_meta":{"origin":82025,"position":0},"title":"Red-tailed Hawk Nesting Season Has Begun!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The female Red-tailed Hawk blended into the lichen covered cliff face so well that even with my sharp eyesight I didn't see her until the male landed next to her.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Red-tailed Hawk leaping off of a cliff face, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/red-tailed-hawk-female-cliff-face-mia-mcpherson-9472.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/red-tailed-hawk-female-cliff-face-mia-mcpherson-9472.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":"Close up of a male Red-tailed Hawk in flight, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-flight-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0725.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-flight-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0725.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-flight-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0725.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-flight-close-up-mia-mcpherson-0725.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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I shared one image a few days ago and here are a few more.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Red-tailed Hawk taking off from a cliff, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-desert-mia-mcpherson-2032.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-desert-mia-mcpherson-2032.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-desert-mia-mcpherson-2032.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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McPherson","date":"July 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Having one Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) in my viewfinder is a joy and getting two of them in the same frame is even more of a delight.","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":"Pair of adult Red-tailed Hawks on a dead Aspen, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/red-tailed-hawks-mia-mcpherson-4276.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/red-tailed-hawks-mia-mcpherson-4276.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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