![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/red-taileld-hawk-0229-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-taileld-hawk-0229-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nUnless it’s breeding season it’s unusual for me to photograph a bonded pair of adult Red-tailed Hawks hanging out together but yesterday morning I managed to do just that.<\/p>\n
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1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n We found them soon after dawn in a remote area of northern Utah. The larger female of the pair is on the right. That early in the morning the light was still very warm so everything but the sky background was lit with a pretty intense golden glow that may or may not appeal to viewers. But I like it.<\/p>\n About half an hour before these photos were taken my pickup thermometer registered 17\u00b0 F so both birds spent much of their time fluffed up like this in order to conserve body heat.<\/p>\n Believe me, it was cold. Two days earlier I had my hair cut for the first time in far too many months so with my pickup windows down and the engine and heater off my nearly bald head felt like an ice cube.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n The female spent more time preening than her mate did but he watched her grooming with great interest as if he was trying to figure out how it’s done.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n He kept his eyes glued on her as she scratched her head with those needle sharp talons. When she tucked them away in her belly feathers again…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n he seemed intensely curious about where she put them, as if she’d made them disappear by magic. He held this inquiring pose long enough for me to get multiple photos of it.<\/p>\n Red-tailed Hawks are monogamous and usually maintain pair bonds until death of a partner, at least in non-migratory (resident) populations, so I have to wonder how many years these love birds have been together. There are several red-tail nests in this general area so it’s very possible that I’ve photographed these hawks at their nest with chicks in the past.<\/p>\n This twice divorced bird photographer admires their apparent stable relationship and their obvious devotion to each other.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Unless it’s breeding season it’s unusual for me to photograph a bonded pair of adult Red-tailed Hawks hanging out together but yesterday morning I managed to do just that.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/red-tailed-hawk-0216-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-tailed-hawk-0216-ron-dudley\\"")
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