A Mated Pair Of Red-tailed Hawks

Our recent trip to the Centennial Valley of sw Montana lasted 6 days.  On the last morning, only an hour or so before we had to leave, we found these cooperative adult Red-tailed Hawks.  I couldn’t believe our luck – warm, early morning light coming from the right direction, a clean natural perch, an interesting and varying background with clouds and blue sky, they allowed us close to them for over 20 minutes and there were two of them!

 

red tailed hawk 9663 ron dudley

1/800, f/9, ISO 500, 500 f/4. 1.4 tc 

When we first found them they were perched together.  I strongly suspect they’re a mated pair (though I don’t know that unequivocally) since they’re adults and many Red-tails stay paired year-round.

 

 

red tailed hawk 9713 ron dudley

1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4. 1.4 tc

 The two birds stayed together on the perch for almost 10 minutes as we photographed them and then one of them flew off.

 

 

red tailed hawk 9716 ron dudley

1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4. 1.4 tc

The hawk left behind immediately decided to occupy the vacated perch…

 

 

red tailed hawk 9724 ron dudley

 1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4. 1.4 tc

and did so for some time.

 

 

red tailed hawk 9728 ron dudley

 1/500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4. 1.4 tc 

 But the bird that flew off landed in a nearby conifer and immediately had to contend with a pair of very aggressive and persistent American Kestrels.

 

 

red tailed hawk 9734 ron dudley

 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4. 1.4 tc 

 Soon the kestral-harrassed hawk returned, only to find its preferred perch already occupied.

 

 

red tailed hawk 9736 ron dudley

 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4. 1.4 tc 

There was some mild squabbling and posturing over who would occupy that perch…

 

 

red tailed hawk 9744 ron dudley

 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4. 1.4 tc 

but the bickering was interrupted when a smaller bird of some kind began dive bombing them, as you can see from their reaction.  I don’t know for sure what kind of bird it was because I never took my eye off the viewfinder so I wouldn’t miss a reaction shot but I suspect it was one of those kestrels.

 

 

red tailed hawk 9761 ron Dudley

 1/400, f/16, ISO 500, 500 f/4. 1.4 tc

But soon the returning hawk pushed the issue and the darker bird flew off.

 

 

red tailed hawk 9799 ron dudley

 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4. 1.4 tc 

It may have won the perch but peace and tranquility just wasn’t in the cards for this hawk as a swallow began to repeatedly dive-bomb it.  Such is the life of the buteos – almost constant harassment by smaller birds.

Ron

14 Comments

  1. Amazing! I have only seen red tails for a matter of seconds, can’t imagine being able to see them over a period of time like this. I have to say with the one vacated the perch, I think it must have been the female that stayed, at least it looked like she was checking her pedicure. LOL

  2. Another great series Ron. That’s a cool shot of the vertical tail (of the female?) that Bryce commented on, and also a nice catch of the pestering AK. What a striking rufousy dark bird. How the heck do you get all the subtle contrasts of RT plumage to be so distinct and unmuddied? Quite impressive and artful. While Bryce got excited about the tail pattern, I was pleased to see what looks to be blood on the same birds foot. Everybody’s gotta eat! Red-tailed tail variations are indeed interesting. The shading variations of that particular RT’s tail seems to indicate it’s at least a third year bird. Bryce and I will be working together this fall out in the Goshutes and will hopefully get lots of detailed looks.

    • Mike, you and Bryce will have me paying even more attention now to plumage patterns on red-tails. I had noticed the unusual overall redness of the one bird here but missed noticing the tail pattern. I had no idea that you and Bryce work together – neat!

  3. Thank you Ron. This series of shots is delightful.
    I can remember one of our Wedge-tailed Eagles (a very big bird) being forced to vacate its chosen perch after being harassed and dive bombed repeatedly by a much smaller magpie.

  4. Wow! Gorgeous birds in gorgeous light. Congrats!

  5. Thank you Christina, Tana, Bob and Earl. I appreciate your support!

  6. Great lighting Ron. Nice photos.

  7. Great post, Ron. I love the images. I wonder if those two need to see a marriage counselor. They don’t seem to be getting along well. LOL

  8. I love these images and the interaction with the other birds, as I have observed similar behavior. Your pics are just beautiful!

  9. What a wonderful post… Stunning images!

  10. I love that darker bird. Variation in Red-Tailed plumages is a favorite topic of mine. Did you notice the outer tail feather on the light bird? It is banded, unlike the others that only have a sub-terminal band. Weird! And anytime I see a dark bird, and a bird with banding in the tail, I get excited. Love this post Ron.

    • Thanks a lot Bryce, for your interesting comment. No, I hadn’t noticed the banded outer tail feather until you pointed it out but then I don’t have the eye for raptor plumage details that you do.

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