{"id":8749,"date":"2013-06-30T03:45:28","date_gmt":"2013-06-30T09:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=8749"},"modified":"2026-01-07T15:34:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T21:34:02","slug":"and-we-have-lift-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/30\/and-we-have-lift-off\/","title":{"rendered":"And We Have Lift Off!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WilletWillet – Run and lift off<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0I wanted to share some bird lift off images today so I rounded up a few that showed different styles of lift offs. This Willet took the run and lift off approach from a boulder on Antelope Island State Park<\/span><\/a>. The Willet’s left leg had just been on the boulder.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Meadowlark – Push and lift off<\/span><\/p>\n

This Western Meadowlark pushed off with its legs to lift off, its feet are still on the Greasewood as it started to flutter its wings.<\/p>\n

\"SquattingSquatting Horned Lark – preparing for lift off<\/span><\/p>\n

Horned Larks often use the squat and lift off method, almost sounds like a weigh-lifting move only the weight lifter wouldn’t be flying away at breakneck speed.<\/p>\n

\"Swainson's<\/a>Swainson’s Hawk – Squat and\u00a0lift off<\/span><\/p>\n

This Swainson’s Hawk photographed at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge<\/span><\/a> in Montana also employed the squat and lift off method but it looked a bit more powerful than the Horned Lark did and the hawk didn’t fly off nearly as fast as the lark did. Look at that concentration!<\/p>\n

\"Rough-leggedRough-legged Hawk – Leap and lift off<\/span><\/p>\n

Now this Rough-legged Hawk took a leap as lift off using its very long powerful wings. I’d give this bird a score of ten for technique!<\/p>\n

\"Red-shoulderedRed-shouldered Hawk – Push and lift off<\/span><\/p>\n

This Red-shouldered Hawk didn’t squat much as\u00a0it pushed off\u00a0from the\u00a0old snag it was perched on in a smooth fluid movement that propelled the bird forward.<\/p>\n

Flight shots are wonderful but so are lift off shots.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my bird photos in their galleries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I wanted to share some bird lift off images today so I rounded up a few that showed different styles of lift offs. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8743,"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":[511,27,1022,25,704,436,12,2000,608,882,1087,206,26,371,308],"tags":[2663,4275,4219,4200,4181,4033,4169,1327,285,6433,2136,4282,4825,2269,4218,1648,274,2267,4061,4034,2268,4168,4308,4047],"class_list":["post-8749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-horned-larks","category-montana","category-pinellas-county-florida","category-red-rock-lakes-national-wildlife-refuge","category-red-shouldered-hawks","category-rough-legged-hawks","category-swainson-hawks","category-utah","category-western-meadowlarks","category-willets","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-lagopus","tag-buteo-lineatus","tag-buteo-swainsoni","tag-eremophila-alpestris","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-horned-lark","tag-large-game","tag-lark","tag-larks-2","tag-lift-off","tag-meadowlarks","tag-push","tag-red-shouldered-hawk","tag-rough-legged-hawk","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-squat","tag-sturnella-neglecta","tag-swainsons-hawk","tag-thrust","tag-tringa-semipalmata","tag-western-meadowlark","tag-willet"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/swainsons-hawk-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2621.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-2h7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7286,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/01\/27\/immature-red-tailed-rough-legged-ferruginous-and-swainsons-hawks\/","url_meta":{"origin":8749,"position":0},"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, 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2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Western Kingbird After several days of not being able to photograph birds because of bad weather I was pleasantly surprised to have a medley of birds to photograph on Antelope Island Monday.","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":"Juvenile Horned Lark, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/horned-lark-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-3260.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/horned-lark-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-3260.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Swainson's Hawk just after lift off on Antelope Island","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/swainsons-hawk-flying-mia-mcpherson-1175.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/swainsons-hawk-flying-mia-mcpherson-1175.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/swainsons-hawk-flying-mia-mcpherson-1175.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/swainsons-hawk-flying-mia-mcpherson-1175.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":105569,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/08\/29\/dark-morph-swainsons-hawk-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":8749,"position":3},"title":"Dark Morph Swainson’s Hawk Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Early yesterday morning on my way to the auto tour route at Bear River MBR I was delighted to see and photograph not just one dark morph Swainson's Hawk but two.","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":"Adult dark morph Swainson's Hawk in lift off pose, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, 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24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"While looking for a photo to share this morning I found this immature Rough-legged Hawk on a No Swimming Sign with the snowy Wasatch Mountains in the background.","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":"Rough-legged Hawk on a No Swimming sign on the causeway to Antelope Island, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Rough-legged-Hawk-no-swimming-sign-ma-mcpheerson-9223.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Rough-legged-Hawk-no-swimming-sign-ma-mcpheerson-9223.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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