This little falcon was a picky eater.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I photographed him ten days ago in the favorite fishing tree of the Belted Kingfisher I spent so much time with recently. I’m fairly certain this is the same bird I posted four days ago in my “Serendipity Happens” post. He landed with the grasshopper fairly high up in the tree so the angle is a little steep but at least up there I had very few twigs cluttering up the photos (though I did remove a small portion of a single out of focus twig in each of these images).
Because of the large branch in front of the tail and the steep angle I consider these to be only documentary shots but I like the series because of the interesting behaviors.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This was actually the first shot I got of him after he landed.
A huge crop of the same photo (5% of the original image) implies that he may have already bitten the grasshopper’s head off when he landed there.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This guy didn’t like grasshopper wings so he…
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
discarded them with a flip of his head.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
And he did the same thing with the legs.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
But he sure seemed to enjoy the rest of his Orthopteran meal.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
When he was through eating he only gave me a few moments for some after dinner photos and then he was gone.
Kestrels usually swallow small insects whole but they often discard legs and wings of larger insect prey like grasshoppers. In my experience they also typically reject the intestines of small mammal prey like voles.
I don’t blame them one bit.
Ron
You referenced ‘this dapper little male kestral’ in your previous posting. Very appropriate for this good looking bird who appears to be ‘giving you the eye’.
I’ve never seen a bird eat any insect so this was a real education for me, especially the discarding of undesirable parts.
Thanks for the series, Ron
“especially the discarding of undesirable parts”
Alice, many raptors have “discriminating tastes” and discard various parts for various reasons, most owls being the exception as they typically swallow their prey whole.
Great series Ron! Beautiful!
Thank you, Dick.
Of course. Who wants the gritty bits? I can’t help but be reminded of a much loved cat who shared his life with us. Medlyn loved eating spiders, but spat out the drumsticks.
Documentary or not, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Thanks Ron.
“but spat out the drumsticks”
You almost reliably make me smile, EC. Thanks for that.
I just love Kestrels–yes even the Evil Princess! What a splendid series!
I’ve often been amazed at their surgical precision in discarding what they don’t want to eat. By their second year, they’ve got their anatomy lessons down pat and could probably embarrass some surgeons with their abilities.
Thank you!
“could probably embarrass some surgeons with their abilities”
Well said, Laura. I’ve noticed the same thing.
The wings and legs probably tickle going down. 😉 These are fantastic shots, Ron! The Kestrel is so sharp that I can even see his eyelashes in the first and last shots. Wow!
Thanks for noticing the sharpness, Marty. These images were unusually sharp, even for my lens. That’s why that third, hugely cropped image held up as well as it did.
Wonderful…
Thank you, Susan.
Thanks for another interesting, informative series!!
You’re welcome, Joanne.
Enjoyed the pictures and glad you could get some nice pictures of the kestrel, even if he is eating!
Thanks, Trudy.
Big smile for the Kestrel shots. I’m guessing he wasn’t in the mood for crunchy.
I think you’re right, Susan…
Interesting series. Kestrels are such pretty little predadatorsand apparently finicky feeders. I wouldn’t want to eat those parts either…the “after dinner photo” in the last frame is particularly nice!!!
And to think I actually considered leaving that last shot out because there’s not much interesting going on… :).
Ron,
When I got your email about a Kestrel eating a grasshopper … I had to go look. That first picture made me laugh … I did not expect him to have it in his claws … I really enjoyed the series … and like you … I love to watch birds do what they do … thanks for sharing!
“I did not expect him to have it in his claws”
Kevin, I’ve actually seen them eat grasshoppers almost like an ice cream cone, holding it up to their face with one foot. Pretty amusing to watch.
Beautiful series, Ron! 🙂 They are such pretty little raptors even knowing one REALLY doesn’t want to grab one! Probably not a lot of nutrition and hard to digest in wings and legs. Notice even the cats don’t always like intestines particularly of voles if they eat them at all which they often don’t here.
Thank you, Judy. Yes the legs and wings are composed mostly of indigestible chitin so eating them would only add to the amount of “debris” that had to be ejected later as pellets.
Sensational series Ron!
Charlotte!
Thanks, Charlotte.
Another great piece of work Ron!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Brian. Thanks.