Immature Red-tailed Hawk Harassed By A Northern Harrier

Immature Red-tailed Hawk perched on a post in the marsh – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and spent 28 minutes photographing it including when a Northern Harrier harassed it. I’ll post more photos of this stunning young Red-tailed Hawk another day but today I wanted to share photos of it before, during and after the Northern Harrier flew past it.

In this photo the immature Red-tailed Hawk was resting on its perch while it looked around for prey in the marsh.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk looking alert – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

Then through my viewfinder I saw the young Red tail hunker down, flatten the feathers on its head and stare at something that was outside of my viewfinder. I started firing a burst of images because this young raptor’s behavior told me something was about to happen.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk in a defensive posture – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

The posture of the immature Red-tailed Hawk changed again and became more defensive. At this point I kept firing shots in a burst.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk after being harassed by a Northern Harrier – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

Through my viewfinder I could see that it was a Northern Harrier that had flown in to harass the immature Red-tailed Hawk. Unfortunately all I caught of the harrier in any of my photos was its feet, talons and tail.

I didn’t crop this image as tight as the others in this post so that I could show the harrier in it.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk after a Northern Harrier flew over – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

After the harrier flew by the young Red-tailed Hawk settled back down and after a few seconds began to relax its posture.

I don’t think this young Red-tailed Hawk could have had a wider wide-eyed look after the harrier left!

I wish I had been able to get more of the Northern Harrier in my photos but when you are photographing nature sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don’t.

Life is good.

Mia

By the way, about two years ago I photographed another immature Red-tailed Hawk lifting off from this exact perch, it can be seen here.

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