Red-tailed Hawk With Prey

I photographed this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk yesterday morning near Farmington Bay as it prepared to eat a vole it had just caught.

Note: Fair warning – the second photo in this sequence is slightly graphic so sensitive folks may want to avoid scrolling further than the first image.

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Juvenile Swainson’s Hawk Take-off

In my experience there’s a huge range in the approachability of juvenile raptors, even among siblings. And overall, Swainson’s Hawks seem to be the most approachable of all. This variability was demonstrated during our trip to Montana’s Centennial Valley last week and once again it made me nervous for the safety of the bird.

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Fighting Red-tailed Hawks

Two days ago this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk was hunting from a sign post and everything seemed to be calm – to the point that I was enjoying the sunflowers in the setting and the irony of the sign it was perched on. That tranquility didn’t last long…

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