{"id":95633,"date":"2021-09-25T05:44:58","date_gmt":"2021-09-25T11:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=95633"},"modified":"2026-01-24T16:17:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T22:17:34","slug":"red-tailed-hawk-pre-flight-poop-shot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/09\/25\/red-tailed-hawk-pre-flight-poop-shot\/","title":{"rendered":"Red-tailed Hawk Pre-flight Poop Shot"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AdultAdult Red-tailed Hawk defecating prior to take off \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I spent yesterday morning out in the West Desert of Utah looking for and photographing birds. The bird action was slow and except for the Ferruginous and Red-tailed Hawks that I found I didn’t photograph many species.<\/p>\n

I don’t normally like to head out there on Fridays during this part of the year because a lot of people head out to go camping and that can make places I usually like to park to look for birds kind of a crapshoot.<\/p>\n

Speaking of crapshoots…<\/p>\n

I found this adult Red-tailed Hawk while I was keeping my eyes on two Ferruginous Hawks, one to the west and one to the north. This adult Red-tail landed on a nearby fence post while I took a few images of one of the Ferruginous Hawks. I was hoping that I would be able to take nice images of the hawk lifting off.<\/p>\n

When the Red-tailed Hawk took a pre-flight poop I thought I’d get my chance at those lift off and flight photos.<\/p>\n

Then a noisy pickup drove by and the Red-tailed Hawk<\/span><\/a> took to the air with its back to me.<\/p>\n

Well, poop.<\/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":"

When the Red-tailed Hawk took a pre-flight poop I thought I’d get my chance at those lift off and flight photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95631,"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":[27,449,358,26,1314],"tags":[4004,970,2663,4170,2497,12317,5135,4098,4620,898,4033,4169,2386,4104,4375,3917,12316,12315,153,4209,3792,8917],"class_list":["post-95633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-red-tailed-hawks","category-tooele-county","category-utah","category-west-desert-utah","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-jamaicensis","tag-buteos","tag-crapshoot","tag-defecating","tag-desert","tag-fall","tag-fence-post","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-perched","tag-poop","tag-pooping","tag-pre-flight","tag-prior","tag-raptors","tag-red-tailed-hawk","tag-take-off","tag-wooden-post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-west-desert-pooping-mia-mcpherson-5713.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-oSt","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":106793,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/10\/04\/red-tailed-hawk-waiting-for-the-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":95633,"position":0},"title":"Red-tailed Hawk Waiting For The Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"My favorite of the hawks I photographed in the West Desert yesterday was this adult Red-tailed Hawk on a fence post waiting for the morning light.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-tailed Hawk waiting for the morning light, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-before-dawns-light-mia-mcpherson-8034.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-before-dawns-light-mia-mcpherson-8034.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-before-dawns-light-mia-mcpherson-8034.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-before-dawns-light-mia-mcpherson-8034.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":100286,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/02\/28\/desert-red-tailed-hawk-it-is-nest-building-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":95633,"position":1},"title":"Desert Red-tailed Hawk – It Is Nest Building Time","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Among the birds I found was a desert dwelling Red-tailed Hawk adult who was busy refurbishing a nest on a cliff face.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-tailed Hawk resting on a cliff face in bitter cold temps, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-cliff-face-desert-mia-mcpherson-5336.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-cliff-face-desert-mia-mcpherson-5336.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-cliff-face-desert-mia-mcpherson-5336.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-cliff-face-desert-mia-mcpherson-5336.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":116873,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/10\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-on-a-west-desert-weather-station\/","url_meta":{"origin":95633,"position":2},"title":"Red-tailed Hawk On A West Desert Weather Station","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A West Desert weather station wasn't the prettiest perch, but that is where I found this handsome Red-tailed Hawk last week when I went looking for birds.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Red-tailed Hawk on a West Desert weather station, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-weather-station-mia-mcpherson-2185.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-weather-station-mia-mcpherson-2185.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-weather-station-mia-mcpherson-2185.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-weather-station-mia-mcpherson-2185.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107573,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/10\/28\/desert-red-tailed-hawk-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":95633,"position":3},"title":"Desert Red-tailed Hawk Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was up in far northern Utah looking for birds last week, I took quite a few Red-tailed Hawk photos. 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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-desert-mia-mcpherson-2032.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":111219,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/15\/red-tailed-hawk-pre-lift-off\/","url_meta":{"origin":95633,"position":4},"title":"Red-tailed Hawk Pre-Lift Off","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been about four years since I photographed this rufous Red-tailed Hawk in in a pre-lift off pose way up in northern Utah. This pose can be hard to capture.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-tailed Hawk in pre-lift off position, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-tailed-adult-rufous-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-8126.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-tailed-adult-rufous-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-8126.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-tailed-adult-rufous-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-8126.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-tailed-adult-rufous-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-8126.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8192,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/04\/26\/tale-of-a-red-tailed-hawk\/","url_meta":{"origin":95633,"position":5},"title":"Tale Of A Red-tailed Hawk","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a rather short tale about a Red-tailed Hawk although the tail of the Red-tailed Hawk is no shorter than any other Red-tailed Hawk.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-tailed adult with wings spread out in Tooele County, West Desert, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-mia-mcpherson-8938.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-mia-mcpherson-8938.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-mia-mcpherson-8938.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-mia-mcpherson-8938.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}