Red-tailed Hawk standing in roadside grass near Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge

Red-tailed Hawk Standing In Grass

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I had just left Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma when I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk standing in the grass beside the road. It was focused on feeding and paid little attention to the traffic, which gave me a short chance to make a few photos before a loud car passed and flushed it.

Red-tailed Hawk standing in roadside grass near Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge
A Red-tailed Hawk stands in the grass after I spotted it just outside Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.

Red-tailed Hawk Feeding in the Grass

This hawk was on the ground when I found it, which is not something I get to photograph every day. Most of the time, I see Red-tailed Hawks perched on poles, fence posts, or trees. Here, it stayed low in the grass and kept looking down as it fed. That moment gave the scene a more intimate feel than a typical perch shot.

Red-tailed Hawks are common across much of North America and often use open country, fields, roadsides, and habitat edges where they can watch for prey. They are powerful raptors, and they feed on small mammals and other small animals. In this case, I could tell the bird was eating something in the grass, but I could not confirm exactly what it had caught.

Red-tailed Hawk looking down into the grass while feeding in Oklahoma
The hawk kept looking down into the grass as it fed beside the road.

One thing I liked about this encounter was the setting. The grass helped tell the story and showed the hawk as part of the landscape, not just as a tight portrait. The bird’s alert posture, strong bill, and broad build all helped give it that classic Red-tailed Hawk look. The experience was brief, but it felt like one of those roadside wildlife moments that can change fast.

Red-tailed Hawk standing near a roadside grassy area in Oklahoma
This Red-tailed Hawk stayed near the road only briefly before a passing car scared it off.

Photography Notes

I photographed this hawk near Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma on January 8, 2023, at 12:33 p.m. I was working from the road and had to shoot quickly before the scene changed. The bird was tolerating passing vehicles at first, but that ended when a louder car came through and scared it off.

Photography Settings:

  • Camera: Canon EOS R5
  • Lens: Canon RF 800mm F11 IS STM
  • Aperture: f11 (Fixed)
  • Shutter speed: 1/800
  • ISO: 400
  • Focal Length: 800 mm (Fixed)

The long focal length let me stay back and still fill the frame. With a bird on the ground, that reach also helped me isolate the subject while keeping some of the grass in the frame for context.

The light was natural and even, which helped show good feather detail. Because the hawk was feeding and could leave at any moment, I focused on getting sharp frames first.

Final Thoughts on This Red-tailed Hawk Encounter

This was a short encounter, but it’s the kind I never regret stopping for. A red-tailed hawk feeding in the open does not stay put for long, especially near traffic. When it happens, shoot first, settle in second.