Swainson’s Hawk Chicks, Sub-adult And Adults

Two Swainson’s Hawk chicks on their nest tree – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/500, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 314mm, natural light, not baited

I’m sure that by now Swainson’s Hawks have already migrated into northern Utah because on my way home from being in the field with birds last week I saw one flying over I-15. I love to photograph Swainson’s Hawks and I hope that I will be able to do that this year. The Swainson’s have flown a long way to be on their breeding grounds, all the way from South America.

I thought that today I’d share photos of the various life stages of Swainson’s Hawks that I get to see and photograph.

I have been able to photograph images of Swainson’s Hawk chicks in their nest in southwestern Montana. These two chicks were calling and begging for the nearby adults to bring them food. I’m sure that these young hawks were about ready to fledge when I photographed them.

Juvenile Swainson’s Hawk at the edge of a storm – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 800, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited

This juvenile light morph Swainson’s Hawk had already fledged and was hunting on its own when I photographed it. The parents were still watching over the young raptor and I would say they were still helping to feed it at this age. Not long after this photo was taken that September this young Swainson’s would have made its first long migration south.

Rousing sub-adult Swainson’s Hawk in Idaho – Nikon D500, f8, 1/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

Some sub-adult Swainson’s Hawks don’t migrate and spend their first year by staying in South America but some of them do migrate north to their breeding grounds here in North America. I wouldn’t say that it is rare to see sub-adults here but it isn’t all that common either. This one was photographed in Clark County Idaho just a few miles from the Montana state line.

Dark morph sub-adult Swainson’s Hawk pooping – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 400, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

I don’t see nearly as many sub-adult Swainson’s Hawks as I do adults so when I do see them I try to photograph them, even when they are pooping which is what happened when I photographed this dark morph sub-adult in Box Elder County Utah three years ago.

There is a lot of variability in the plumage of Swainson’s Hawks, from light, intermediate to dark morphs and variations in between.

Light morph female Swainson’s Hawk on her breeding grounds – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

This beautiful light morph female Swainson’s Hawk was the mate of the male in the photo below. I actually photographed the pair mating in May of 20125 in Beaverhead County, Montana. She was a gorgeous bird.

Intermediate morph male Swainson’s Hawk on his breeding grounds – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

This male was the mate of the female above. I’d call him an intermediate morph because of the darker plumage on his belly. Some of the dark morphs are much darker than he is.

These are the life stages of the Swainson’s Hawks I see, observe and photograph here in Utah, Idaho and Montana. Some day I’d love to find a nest with younger chicks to add to my portfolio if I can do that without disturbing them.

For now, I hope I will be able to get out into the field to photograph this species this year but with the Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions in place I won’t hold my breath.

Stay safe.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Swainson’s Hawk photos plus facts and information about this species.