{"id":85917,"date":"2021-04-26T06:32:04","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T12:32:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=85917"},"modified":"2025-10-16T08:03:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T13:03:07","slug":"defecating-red-tailed-hawk-for-a-crappy-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/26\/defecating-red-tailed-hawk-for-a-crappy-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Defecating Red-tailed Hawk For A Crappy Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-160528 size-full\" title=\"Defecating Red-tailed Hawk, Box Elder County, Utah\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-defecating-mia-mcpherson-8933.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-defecating-mia-mcpherson-8933.jpg\" alt=\"Defecating Red-tailed Hawk, Box Elder County, Utah\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27600%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20600%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27600%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-defecating-mia-mcpherson-8933-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-defecating-mia-mcpherson-8933-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-defecating-mia-mcpherson-8933-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-defecating-mia-mcpherson-8933-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-defecating-mia-mcpherson-8933.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Defecating Red-tailed Hawk \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 21.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It just seemed appropriate to share a defecating Red-tailed Hawk on day three of crappy weather here in northern Utah. This defecating Red-tailed Hawk was photographed last March in <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Box_Elder_County,_Utah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Box Elder County<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>There have already been two days of thick gray clouds that have kept me from being out in the field. At least this morning I can see that we are actually getting some rain. With our extreme drought conditions <em>any<\/em> moisture is welcomed but to have two days of clouds without rain, well, that has been frustrating. I don&#8217;t normally like to grumble or complain here but honestly once in a blue moon I think it helps me a bit to express how I am feeling.<\/p>\n<p>It is even more frustrating because it is spring migration and I am anxious to get out into the field and see or hear my first of the year Gray Catbirds, Green-tailed Towhees, warblers or hummingbirds. It feels crappy to be stuck inside when I know that migrating birds are moving in. I&#8217;ve got a pretty good case of cabin fever right now.<\/p>\n<p>And then there are the wildflowers, the butterflies, and <em>so<\/em> much more that I want to see and experience.<\/p>\n<p>The weather looks bad for getting out into the field tomorrow too. Wednesday and Thursday look great though so I&#8217;m going to keep that in mind and hope that the forecast doesn&#8217;t change and that this weather front doesn&#8217;t stall over us.<\/p>\n<p>Life<em> is <\/em>good even when the weather is crappy.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/red-tailed-hawk-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">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":"<p>It just seemed appropriate to share a defecating Red-tailed Hawk on day three of crappy weather here in northern Utah.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":160528,"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":[4004,2663,4170,2497,6654,5135,4033,4169,2386,4104,3917,4394,153,4209,4111,8917],"class_list":["post-85917","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-buteos","tag-crappy","tag-defecating","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-perched","tag-pooping","tag-post","tag-raptors","tag-red-tailed-hawk","tag-weather","tag-wooden-post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-defecating-mia-mcpherson-8933.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-mlL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":95633,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/09\/25\/red-tailed-hawk-pre-flight-poop-shot\/","url_meta":{"origin":85917,"position":0},"title":"Red-tailed Hawk Pre-flight Poop Shot","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"When the Red-tailed Hawk took a pre-flight poop I thought I'd get my chance at those lift off and flight photos.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Red-tailed Hawk defecating prior to take off, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-west-desert-pooping-mia-mcpherson-5713.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-west-desert-pooping-mia-mcpherson-5713.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-west-desert-pooping-mia-mcpherson-5713.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-west-desert-pooping-mia-mcpherson-5713.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48466,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/09\/15\/two-red-tailed-hawks-in-idaho-one-year-with-the-nikon-d500\/","url_meta":{"origin":85917,"position":1},"title":"Two Red-tailed Hawks in Idaho &#8211; One Year With The Nikon D500","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A year ago today I was photographing lots of Red-tailed Hawks in Clark County, Idaho and using my Nikon D500 in the field for the first time.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Idaho sub-adult Red-tailed Hawk lifting off, Clark County, Idaho","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-sub-adult-lifting-off-mia-mcpherson-1414.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-sub-adult-lifting-off-mia-mcpherson-1414.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-sub-adult-lifting-off-mia-mcpherson-1414.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-sub-adult-lifting-off-mia-mcpherson-1414.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27397,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/08\/12\/red-tailed-hawks-near-the-promontory-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":85917,"position":2},"title":"Red-tailed Hawks Near The Promontory Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I spent the morning in Box Elder County driving along the Promontory Mountain Range and Red-tailed Hawks were the most numerous raptors I saw.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Portrait of a Red-tailed Hawk in Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-portrait-mia-mcpherson-4156.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-adult-portrait-mia-mcpherson-4156.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-portrait-mia-mcpherson-4156.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-portrait-mia-mcpherson-4156.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48337,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/09\/03\/adult-red-tailed-hawk-surveying-its-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":85917,"position":3},"title":"Adult Red-tailed Hawk Surveying Its World","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this adult Red-tailed Hawk earlier this year in northern Utah as it perched on a lichen-covered rock surveying its world and thought I would share it today.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-tailed Hawk surveying its world, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-bugs-mia-mcpherson-1386.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-bugs-mia-mcpherson-1386.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-bugs-mia-mcpherson-1386.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-bugs-mia-mcpherson-1386.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63181,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/01\/24\/rufous-female-red-tailed-hawk-fly-by\/","url_meta":{"origin":85917,"position":4},"title":"Rufous Female Red-tailed Hawk Fly By","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I keep wondering if I will see this big, gorgeous, rufous Red-tailed Hawk female in my viewfinder again this year.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rufous Red-tailed Hawk female flying past me, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-female-on-the-wing-mia-mcpherson-5722.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-female-on-the-wing-mia-mcpherson-5722.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-female-on-the-wing-mia-mcpherson-5722.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/red-tailed-hawk-rufous-female-on-the-wing-mia-mcpherson-5722.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46669,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/05\/09\/molting-one-year-old-red-tailed-hawk\/","url_meta":{"origin":85917,"position":5},"title":"Molting One-Year-Old Red-tailed Hawk","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I also keep images of birds that look a bit messy because they are molting even if they aren't up to my standards, like this one-year-old Red-tailed Hawk that was rapidly molting the end of July in 2015.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rapid second pre-basic molt in a year old Red-tailed Hawk, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-molting-mia-mcpherson-0729.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-molting-mia-mcpherson-0729.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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