It was almost like I called this bird out of the sky.
Because of health and weather issues I’ve rarely visited my usual bird haunts over the past 11 days but most days we do visit a local pond just to see if we can get lucky. Usually that’s a very long shot because the only birds down there are domestic ducks, gulls, coots and sometimes a few geese and the light has been crappy anyway. When we made that trip yesterday morning I remarked to Mia on the way down “I think we make about 40 trips to the pond for every time we get lucky”. She agreed.
And as usual we were skunked at the pond. But we often check out the nearby Jordan River before we give up so we did that once again and en route I said to Mia “Wouldn’t it be nice to find a serendipitous kestrel?”.
Just over 30 seconds later that’s exactly what happened.
1/640, f/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Immediately after turning into a neighborhood by the river this male American Kestrel almost grazed my windshield as it flew very fast from right to left and made a splat landing in a bush next to the street. I was raising my lens before I braked to a stop but I was already so close to him I could barely fit him in frame vertically. I had about 3 seconds with him in my viewfinder before he took off again and this was the best shot I was able to get.
Though I never did see it I’m quite sure he was chasing a bird that escaped in the thicket of branches. His landing was on the brink of being out of control and he almost impaled himself on the twig sticking up between his wingtips. That twig actually penetrated the base of his tail between the two outside feathers and the rest of his tail. Perhaps he was desperate for food to make such an apparently long-shot attempt at the presumed bird.
1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Almost as soon as he landed he was gone. With that thicket of twigs in front of him the only thing he could do was turn on the perch and leave partially in my direction but as soon as he started to turn and take off my photos were amputating some of his body parts and I didn’t have enough shutter speed to get him sharp anyway.
These images give us a good look at the kestrel but they’re far from great shots. The bird is too tight in the frame, I’ve clipped the tail and the setting is busy. But what fun it was to have him land so close to me immediately after I’d almost begged the gods of photography to provide a serendipitous kestrel.
I may have to start praying to those gods more often and maybe next time I won’t be so close to the bird.
Ron
More great stuff. Another pair of exceptional images. Mr. Dudley you have The Touch and The Eye.
Here’s more serendipity and Roger Tory Peterson lore/trivia (See Marty K’s comment). In the early 1970’s I had an unusual opportunity to meet Mr. Peterson. He was traveling with a tour group on the Lindblad Explorer–one of the first commercial tourist vessels to visit the Antarctic Peninsula–as their on-board naturalist. I was then a graduate student doing field work at Palmer Station. Late one Sunday afternoon the ship unloaded a passel of exceptionally well out-fitted (by our standards!) and clearly well-to-do ladies and gentlemen so they could commune with real penguins (and scruffy research scientists) for a couple of hours. Alas, the majority unshipped after having visited the Lindblad’s liquor stores at least one too many times. Several were mightily challenged just getting out of the small boat that brought them to the station’s little dock. Witnessing this we of the Palmer crew all wondered what was in store for the next few hours. They descended upon us around dinner time. Unfortunately Mr. Peterson was among those who’d started happy hour shortly after noon apparently. We learned as well that he had something of a reputation as a ladies man on the cruise boat circuit. There being a surplus of unaccompanied females in this group let’s just say he seemed “distracted” while ashore…and not by the penguins. Having frittered away a lot of my youth with my nose in his Field Guide to Western Birds I held him up on a bit of an unrealistic pedestal ’til that moment I guess. So I was bummed he couldn’t be enticed into even a brief conversation about birds or his wonderful bird sketches and paintings. Nonetheless it was an honor, an unexpected treat and a great surprise to meet him and be able to thank him in person for setting such a high bar with his field guides. The great natural history guides we take for granted these days owe a lot to Mr. Peterson’s work in my view. For that I can happily excuse his partying ways back in the day.
Thanks again for these picts. Keep up your great work setting such high standards for bird photographers.
A fascinating story, James! Just goes to prove we all have our foibles, even RTP who I’ve always put on a pedestal. Thanks very much for telling the story in such detail.
Thanks for sharing that story James. Don’t you hate it when your heroes fall off their pedestal? It must be slippery up there since folks are imperfectly human and all, and subject to gravity.
Amazing that you were able to get such nice shots given the demands of the driving and the photography!
Thank you, Dave. As always, luck played its part.
Wonderful shots Ron!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
Speaking of serendipity, I just turned on the TV to To Tell the Truth right in time for Roger Tory Peterson to be on. I found the episode; the section of note starts around 16:00. 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDxk_9YlkUc
Wow, I’d never seen a clip of him before, Marty. Quite a treat. And I had no idea he actually saw a living Ivory-billed Woodpecker!
I thought it was pretty cool as well. I love watching these old panel shows!
Thanks for that link Marty! You know that Tim Gallagher (Editor of Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology magazine, “Living Bird”) went on a mission to find the Ivory-billed Woodpecker a couple of years ago. He’s an interesting guy.
Male Kestrels are just gorgeous jewels, aren’t they? And serendipity is almost always good! YAY for you! And with this guy, I really don’t mind that the image isn’t perfect.
Raptors don’t lead safe lives, and when they’re looking for a meal, all kinds of stuff can happen! Jack has an owie where his cere meets is beak from one such environmental impact. Thankfully, it’s not bad.
Thanks, Laura. I hope Jack mends quickly.
Sending healing vibes to Jack — glad it isn’t a bad injury.
I love these portraits of that little killer. So beautiful, close up like that, and you can almost hear his thoughts.
Thank you, Sallie.
A beautiful bird! Congrats on the great photos! (Any photo of a Kestrel is great especially if it isn’t one of it flying way from you!) Isn’t it wonderful how adept we become at multi-tasking when looking for photo-ops! ☺️
Yes, multitasking comes with the territory while using my pickup as a mobile blind.
I saw a kestrel for the first time a couple weeks ago, just beautiful❗️ Having no picture is a bad picture 😜 Love you sharing your birds some of which I’ll never see where I live, so thank you
Thank you, Diana.
How lucky you were to come upon this beautiful kestrel. The colors are so magnificent.
I’m glad you survived clearing your driveway. You had people worried about you doing it.
Thank you, Ron
Yup, I survived, Alice. Nice to have a break from the snow though…
What a gorgeous bird!! So nice and lucky for you to get a close up view even if they are not the greatest shots! I have only see an American Kestrel a few times both from a distance, but I am very thankful for those moments.
Thanks, Joanne. Occasionally my luck is of the good variety, more often it’s that other kind…
Beautiful Pictures. The colors are wonderful. I had a Kestrel sometime ago land sideways on the shepherds hook which holds my bird feeder. He seemed as surprised as I was and was only there momentarily. Their speed is amazing.
Thank you, Betty.
I have been feeding a mated pair of finches on my 7th floor condo porch since last summer. About a week ago I heard all this noise on the porch so I rushed to the door going outside to the porch. As I opened and pushed my head outside I noticed a kestrel sitting neatly in one of my porch chairs no more than three feet from me. That kestrel looked me square in the eyes and then slowly flew off up and over the glass fence surrounding my porch. Just a few light small feathers left there on the seat. I couldn’t tell if my finches survived. But day before yesterday in the snow storm, my beautiful lonely male finch was back for more peanut butter and seeds. I guess beauty won in this fight for life.
Hi Brenda, I’m glad you have some birds at your new place. I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to a wild kestrel – enjoy the memory!
I hope you’re doing well.
I’m doing well. Terry lives in Mesquite now. I’m still in Salt Lake. It’s how life goes I guess
wow…3 seconds is surely for gunslingers…I’ll have to set my goal higher now
If I hadn’t been reaching for my lens and rolling down my window at the same time I was braking I’d never have had the time for even one shot, Elmer. Thank you.
Oh, but they are so beautiful! Such a thrilling experience–even if you felt it was filled with “if only”s
Yup, there were certainly “if onlys”, Sharon but the experience was wonderful and I’m very happy to have the images, imperfections and all.
Beautiful! 🙂 Filling the frame with the wonderful colors certainly made your trip worth while! Glad he didn’t get the windshield….. Streets must not be too bad from your storm……….
They do a pretty good job clearing our streets, Judy. It’s easier for them here then it is in MT because it isn’t nearly so cold. I have many memories of winters in Cut Bank when the roads were snow/ice covered for many weeks on end. I once got in a serious car accident because of it (not my fault but in situations like that it doesn’t make a lot of difference whose fault it was).
“Too fast for conditions” and, sometimes, moving at all is “too fast for conditions”! We’re doing some of that at present………
What an exquisite bird–I’m surely glad that he DIDN’T impale himself on that twig……I hope he found himself a good meal very soon thereafter ! That focus just beyond one’s
own body can be perilous ( almost put my eye out last week that very way )– and when it’s compounded with hunger and speed, extra dangerous…..
Kris, Watching this attempt up close made it obvious why raptors are injured so often (eye injuries especially). The lifestyle of a predatory bird is hazardous indeed.
These are perfect representations of a Kestrel to me: the first shot shows the beauty and the second shows the feistiness and ‘tude. 🙂 Glad you and Mia got a dose of serendipity yesterday!
Yup, kestrels are long on “tude”. Thanks, Marty.