An Immature Red-tailed Hawk Resting In A Tree

Portrait of a young Red-tailed Hawk resting in a tree – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

I spent sometime at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning where my best bird of the day was an immature Red-tailed Hawk resting in a tree. When I drove into the WMA I saw this immature hawk perched in the tree before the sun rose over the mountains so it is highly likely that the young raptor roosted in the tree overnight.

Another person was already sitting on the bird in their vehicle so I drove by and went to other areas of the WMA before I came back and saw the Red-tailed Hawk was still in the tree.

Close up of an immature Red-tailed Hawk resting in a tree – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 640, + 0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

I missed out on having golden light on the hawk as the sun first lit it up but it was so smoky yesterday that that golden light may have accentuated it and turned the light to orange. Orange light is not a hue I am fond of with my feathered subjects.

These first two photos were taken with my 1.4x teleconverter attached which when combined with my cropped body Nikon D500 and 500mm lens gives me an effective focal length of 1050mm. That was way too much with this young raptor and how close the tree was to the road. I was parked by the east side of the road, the hawk was on the west side and I had zero room to pull over any further.

I opted to take a series of portraits of the young resting raptor before I removed the teleconverter.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk at rest – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 640, + 0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited

Once I removed the 1.4x teleconverter I was able to take full body images of the immature Red-tailed Hawk as it rested in the tree. The hawk looked around, stretched and preened as I sat observing and photographing it.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk in a cottonwood tree – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 500, + 0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited

Lady Luck was on my side because I was alone with the immature Red-tailed Hawk for a little over eight minutes and when I saw a vehicle coming up behind me I said adieu to the immature Red-tailed Hawk and drove up the road.

Later on I checked back in on this young raptor and it took off as I got close to the tree. It was time for it to go out and look for breakfast and for me to head home.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Red-tailed Hawk photos plus facts and information about this species.