{"id":8562,"date":"2013-06-10T06:56:42","date_gmt":"2013-06-10T12:56:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=8562"},"modified":"2025-07-16T04:12:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T09:12:38","slug":"red-tailed-hawks-in-montana-soaking-up-the-morning-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/10\/red-tailed-hawks-in-montana-soaking-up-the-morning-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Red-tailed Hawks In Montana Soaking Up The Morning Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PairRed-tailed Hawks in Montana soaking up the morning light – Nikon D300, f8, 1\/1000, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I photographed this mated pair of Red-tailed Hawks last week in western Montana as they soaked up the warming rays of the morning sun. I love the coloring of both the hawks especially the male at the bottom. I’ve seen this resident\u00a0pair at this same location two years in a row now.<\/p>\n

I traveled extensively during the trip last week to many counties in Montana and a few in Idaho and I took 6022 images including landscapes, mammals and some flowers and spent time photographing from sunrise to sundown with short breaks during the afternoon to upload memory cards when the light was at its harshest.<\/p>\n

Montana was beautiful and I can’t wait to go back.<\/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":"

I photographed this mated pair of Red-tailed Hawks last week in western Montana as they soaked up the warming rays of the morning sun. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":133654,"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":[1513,27,223,12,608,449],"tags":[4051,2663,4170,4070,4033,4169,2237,4062,2240,2138,13920,2139,4104,153,5201,4209,165,4427,5434],"class_list":["post-8562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beaverhead-county-montana","category-avian","category-centennial-valley","category-montana","category-red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge","category-red-tailed-hawks","tag-adults","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-jamaicensis","tag-female","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-montana","tag-male","tag-mated-pair","tag-mates","tag-mountain-valley","tag-pair","tag-perched","tag-raptors","tag-red-tail-hawk","tag-red-tailed-hawk","tag-spring","tag-tree","tag-valley"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-pair-mia-mcpherson-adjusted-6504.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-2e6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10206,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/11\/08\/red-tailed-hawks-mates-for-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":8562,"position":0},"title":"Red-tailed Hawks – Mates for Life","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"For several years now I have been observing and photographing a mated pair of Red-tailed Hawks in the Centennial Valley of southwestern Montana that have a favorite perch that I often see them on.","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":"Red-tailed Hawks \u2013 Mates for Life, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/red-tailed-hawks-mated-pair-mia-mcpherson-4483.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/red-tailed-hawks-mated-pair-mia-mcpherson-4483.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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meaning to process and share.","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":"Pair of adult Red-tailed Hawks, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/red-tailed-hawk-adults-mia-mcpherson-4308.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-adults-mia-mcpherson-4308.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/red-tailed-hawk-adults-mia-mcpherson-4308.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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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, 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