This female American Kestrel is the apparent mate to the male I posted two days ago. Both falcons were perched next to each other when I approached them 3 days ago in Tooele County but the more shy male flew a few feet and hid behind the cross beams of the power pole.
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
But his lady was stickier and stood her ground and soon a possible reason for that became apparent (this image is out-of-order but all the rest are in sequence).
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
She had some digestive issues to attend to before she flew off. She worked hard at trying to hack up a pellet.
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
When it came out it was in several small pieces of varying color (in my experience kestrel pellets are usually larger than this and in a single mass).
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
She had several difficult bouts of hacking and each time more indigestible material was expelled.
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
She seemed to struggle most with the last little bit. Here she protruded her tongue further than I usually see during this process.
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, canvas added for composition, not baited, set up or called in
When it was over she quickly regained her composure and both birds flew off and as she did so…
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, canvas added for composition, not baited, set up or called in
I was lucky enough to get a single flight shot that didn’t include any of the unattractive perch.
Pellet casting isn’t pretty and it can be uncomfortable, even stressful for the bird but I’m always happy to photograph the behavior.
Ron
It’s amazing enough to see such action, even more so to capture it…UGH but really COOOOL!!!
It is difficult to look at the pellet-casting pictures, but good to know about the process. And it’s clear from the photos how much difficulty she is having. I love both the lift-off and the flight shots. It almost looks like she’s checking to make sure you have your camera focused and ready for her. I never cease to be amazed at how beautiful Kestrels are.
Susan, I’m glad you appreciated the pellet casting sequence, despite the difficulty looking at them. Thank you.
Fabulous series here. Deborah, I’d have been one of the girls going with “COOL”. 😀
Thanks, Arwen.
Ron – an absolutely wonderful set of pictures. I have not seen a Kestrel do this before. I will have to pay special attention in the future in order to see this. The photo quality was remarkable. Thanks so very much for sharing them and giving your in depth explanations on your first hand experience.
Thanks very much, Mark. I’ve seen kestrels casting pellets several times but it sure doesn’t happen very often in my experience.
Good for you for sticking with the “lady” through the gross part–you definitely got rewarded for your constancy with some very COOL shots !
Kris, I was going back and forth between the male and the female with my lens. I was just lucky to get the pellet casting sequence and both birds lifting off.
I was doing a program for 8th graders in Gallup last year, handling a female Kestrel. She started to do the gagging thing, and soon cast a pellet before the aghast eyes of the young audience. From the girl’s side of the room, a chorus of “gross!!!” rose up. From the boy’s side: “cooool!” It became a brilliant teaching moment, as I excitedly told them how lucky they were to get to see such a thing. I agree with the “cool” side of the room, seeing your photos!
Neat, Deborah! I know from my years in the classroom just how special moments like that are for kids. And for their teachers.