Usually when birds are involved I’m fascinated by minutia but sometimes the ‘little things’ can drive me nuts, especially when they’re photography related.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Three days ago this male American Kestrel was the first of quite a few raptors I photographed that morning. His chosen perch, shiny new barbed wire, makes me cringe but he apparently liked it so who am I to complain.
This is one of those photos that during processing I just couldn’t get to look quite ‘right’. When I level the wire as I’ve done here the little falcon looks like he’s about to tip over to our left, not by much but I notice it. If I rotate the image so the falcon is near vertical the wire screams to be leveled. Typically I’d process an image like this one to look like it really looked in the field and as far as I remember this wire was really level so for a detail oriented photographer like me this is a no-win situation.
I know, much ado about nothing but on the other hand, details matter.
OK, here’s another little detail but I find this one interesting rather than frustrating. Notice that in the photo above the kestrel is resting on one foot with his right foot tucked into his plumage where we can’t see it.
Where on his body do you think that foot is? How high up?
1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Soon after the previous photo was taken he flew down the fence line after prey, probably one of the many American Pipits in the area, and landed on this metal post on the same fence. Here he’s in the process of tucking his right foot into his plumage once again – he’s still pulling it up so it’s ultimate destination is even higher up than it is now.
1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Here we see the bulge in his plumage where his foot ended up. I was quite surprised by how high he’s holding it on his chest. It’s signidicantly higher than I expected it to be, especially when I consider how high the top of his foot and lower leg would be.
I probably care about tiny details like these more than I should but to quote Popeye “I yam what I yam and dat’s all what I yam”.
Ron
On an unrelated note:
Avian tragedy struck northern Utah yesterday when 14 lb. Tundra Swans began falling out of the sky and hitting the ground. Good friend April Olson who often comments here and volunteers for Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah had a heartbreaking day yesterday dealing with injured, dead and dying swans.
If you’re interested in the details here’s a link to more info.
April has been doing this emotionally draining work for many years. Not because she’s a glutton for punishment, she just cares deeply for birds and critters.
PS – April has discussed her involvement in the aftermath of the incident in her comment below.
Oh Ron (said in Laura Petry’s “Oh Rob” wail of long ago), have I taught you nothing? You used the “L” word talking about that beautiful male Kestrel!! That means he’s out there, right now, stalking bison just to prove you WRONG! 😉
Like you, I HATE, HATE, HATE the barbed wire, but at least Mr. Kestrel is using it effectively, but still…
I know, first hand just how far up their feet go when they’re warming them! Amazing, isn’t it? They can do all sorts of things I can’t do like that standing on one leg thing (despite that I’m getting LOTS of practice now). It’s just NOT one of my skills and I don’t have backup wings, either! Thus, I make the dreaded SPLAT sound when I can’t overcome that dreaded gravity thing!! Grumble!
Seriously, what a beautiful image and I appreciate your attention to detail and the quest for perfection. That quest for perfection, along with your strong ethics are what makes your photography so special. I’m the same way with words. That’s why it sometimes takes me a long time to post a comment. LOL!
April, picture me giving you a hearty standing ovation!! I KNOW that sorrow and I’m grieving with you albeit long distance. Every loss is a deep and abiding sorrow, but there WILL be survivors because of your efforts and you can celebrate that! Hail storms are just AWFUL! Bless you mightily!!
Ha, he’s probably hunting me down as I sit here!
After extensive calculations involving physics and mathematical formulae to solve the angle of the Kestrel I’ve concluded that this is a beautiful bird. I’ve also determined that the Kestrel’s leg bones won’t allow such contortion unless he’s just eaten a can of spinach.
So sad to hear about the Swans. People like April give me hope for the human race.
“People like April give me hope for the human race.”
Lyle, I feel the same way about April. She doesn’t talk much about what she does or about all the time, effort, resources and heartache involved. She just keeps plugging away, week after week and year after year.
So many people live out their lives without making a positive difference. That certainly can’t be said about April.
Poor swans! Heartbreaking. Hopefully, it was just a weather-related fluke and not something more widespread.
I hope so too, Marty.
I hate those photography conundrums. I get them often, when I have a horizon I straighten for that usually but then it often will make the other horizontal lines look wrong. Then there are old “vertical” fence posts.
It is amazing how high they tuck those toes.
It will be interesting what the State Lab finds in the necropsies. From my experience at 1:30am, I think the tundra swans were in flight during migration through the area and ran into the fast moving storm with big hail, heavy rain, wind and lightning. The hundreds of birds I saw flying low along the Salt Lake bench where I live where scattered and flying all directions. The calls were everywhere, the swans seemed to gain altitude in the time I went back in the house, got dressed, got in my car and went to look to see if they had crash landed in the large parking lots in my area. Water birds will frequently mistake asphalt parking lots and roads for open water and make an emergency landing, hitting hard and getting stranded on the hard surface. I did not see any birds on the ground or in the sky but I could still hear calls everywhere in the sky, through a heavy rain. The calls lessened and finally stopped by 2:20am. An occasional single call would wake me up but by 4am I slept until 7am. I had a feeling there would be swans down and dead. Stephanie Greenwood from Birding in Utah lives in Bountiful area sent me links to down and dead birds. I called into the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah to see if they wanted me to go get the living swan reported. Thus my day started collecting swans. We spent the day running birds to the vet, the center, exchanging birds with other organizations. Not many survived. Badly broken legs, wings and internal bleeding.
Thanks so much for that detailed report, April. Knowing you I can imagine how incredibly difficult yesterday was for you.
Thank you April. Both for your work and this detailed and heart breaking comment.
Horrific day but I hope the few ‘saves’ were worth the other pain. I am grateful that people like you are out there.
Thank you so much, April. Sending love and gentle hugs. ❤️
April, I KNOW that desperation and deep sorrow of picking up dead and injured birds after a hail storm. Hail storms are just awful! I spent many years rehabbing birds with On The Wing Again in Texas. The ONLY reason I quit is that my hands started betraying me through RA so that I could no longer handle birds with any degree of safety! I TRULY miss those days, especially doing the raptor education programs.
You already know this but there are vast quantities of (silly) humans who will tell you that rehabbing makes absolutely NO difference to wild populations. That might be true but it CERTAINLY makes a HUGE difference to the individuals who can return to the wild after a chance to heal and recover!!
Sending blessings and positive, healing energy to you and the swans who are very lucky to have you in their lives!!
Love the pictures of the Kestrel. So sad about the Swans. They are beautiful birds. I hope the other Swans survive and heal so they can be returned to the wild.
Thanks, Jean. Me too.
I agree your little Kestrel appears “tilty” but he’s so beautiful in that warm light it matters not at all to me. Even with the barbed wire, it’s a wonderful photo—especially his look of insouciance. I do marvel at how well-balanced they are to perch with just one foot—and always wonder where the other one is.
Very sad swan loss—I hope they do find that it’s the result of a natural event, just unfortunate timing for the migrants.
Chris, as I’ve demonstrated today I get distracted when things are ’tilty’ when my eye tells me they shouldn’t be.
I also hope the swan event was a natural occurrence. My guess is that it was.
Who doesn’t love Kestrels? He’s on one leg because it manages heat loss. I had the privilege of housing 2 male educational falcons in my home for nearly 20 years for Project wildlife yet I still thrill at the sight of a kestrel in the wild. Ron, your kestrel photos are wonderful as always.
Thanks, Leslie.
Such a mixed post today.
I love the pint sized assassin, and half a world away grieve for the swans. How AWFUL for the rehab workers who have my awe and my gratitude.
Mixed indeed.
Dang, EC – you’re up early. Or late, as the case may be.
Early. Pain and insomnia.
I’m so sorry.
EC I was up with you for the same reasons. Sending you positive, healing energy. LOVE you bunches!
Many, many thanks. And snap.
I noted where the blood spot was on the Kestrel’s right side when the foot was tucked up relative to the one on the left – even tho it looks like it’s leaning the blood dots seem to say “not so”..😉 HORRIBLE about the Tundra Swans. Know the weather can disorientate birds – either thought they were down and dropped or still had altitude and crashed into the ground. Could the reported lightening have had something to do with it? A tragedy regardless! 😞 Have problems with weather forcing migrating swans/geese down into the Berkley Pit with disastrous results. Some “canons” etc. seem to be helping with that……
Judy, it’ll be interesting to see what the final report will say about what happened to the swans. Whatever the cause it’s tragic and stressful for those caregivers trying to help the surviving birds.
Lovely American Kestrel photos, Ron. I am always amazed when birds perch on uncomfortable looking materials, like cold metal tee-posts or barbed wire.
I wonder if the tilt of the kestrel on the barbed wire is that he is balancing and has to move his body to left to get the right footing angle on the wire?
Amazing how high up they bring the leg they want to tuck in for warmth!
Tundra Swans falling from the sky. Sad. In New Mexico, we lost lots of migratory song birds this September due to weather and drought. I wonder the winds exhausted the swans to the point they died?
Here is a link to an article discussing the sudden bird die off.
link Sudden die off of migratory birds
I know that, this year more than ever, the heated fresh water bird baths on my property are more of a hit than the bird feeders. Fresh, clean, open water is super important for birds. I am amazed at how picky they are when it comes to the fresh/clean aspect of water — however, I am the same way 😉
“I wonder if the tilt of the kestrel on the barbed wire is that he is balancing and has to move his body to left to get the right footing angle on the wire?”
Ed, it appears that he’s standing on his left foot which it seems to me would mean that he’d have to lean slightly to his left to make his center of gravity vertical. But he’s leaning to his right.
I have a heated bird bath but I haven’t yet put it out. Thanks for the reminder.
Ron, I took a closer look at the kestrels claw on the barbed wire. Look closely at how the plane of the top of the toes/claw is tilted to the left from the viewer’s perspective. This is due to the position along the wire where the kestrel’s foot is located — a valley on the left side and a ridge on the right side when looking at photo. If you drew a line perpendicular to this plane of the foot, it would tilt left a bit — this is the “normal” to the plane of the foot. It looks like the kestrel’s body is lined up nicely with the normal to that plane — as expected for the forces to be balanced.
I see what you mean but he still looks tipsy to my eye. Maybe I need a whiskey or two to acquire a matching tipsy… 🙂
Those little Kestrels are very flexible guys and gals. Your photos are beautiful and I would not notice or care if he leaned left or right.
What a tragedy for those beautiful Tundra Swans. I would agree that it had to be bad weather to cause that to happen. Your swans often stop here on their way to their final destination and all the photographers look forward to their arrival. I have seen them here and taken photos probably for ten years now, but have never seen one doing a take off or even in the air. Hopefully if they show up this year I will get to witness that.
Everett, I keep trying to imagine the impact of a 14 lb bird out of control and hitting the ground. It’s amazing that any of them survived.