Backgrounds matter.
1/6400, 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
Yesterday morning this male American Kestrel gave me fits. After each hunting foray he kept returning to the same perch or another perch very close by but each one presented problems including poor light angles, approaching traffic and obstacles between me and the bird. Maneuvering my pickup to get into better position before he flew off again was always a tricky and delicate operation.
In most ways this shot tickles my fancy. For my tastes the light angle is just about perfect, casting just enough shadow on his belly and breast to make the lighting interesting but still providing plenty of detail there. He’s sharp throughout, I have light in his eye and the blood and prey bits on his bill are perfectly appropriate for such a fierce little falcon.
But it’s the colors of the layered/banded background in combination with the colors of the bird that I enjoy most. They’re so closely matched they almost seem to be hand picked but I assure you it’s just marsh with standing water back there with no manipulation from me during processing.
For me the complementary colors of background and bird more than make up for the less than ideal unnatural perch.
Ron
Magnificent artful image of a beautiful bird! (Makes my accidentally coincidental kestrel in this week’s blog pale in comparison). I usually encounter him atop a line of Royal Palms while walking home with the sun in my face and his plumage totally shadowed. The challenge is to sneak past without flushing him to move further to the east. Then, when he reaches the last tree, he flies back west out of camera range.
Thank you, Kenneth.
I love this photo so much, what a handsome fierce little man!! (Guessing it’s a male, I have no idea!!🤓)
Thanks Sheila. Yes, it’s a male. See my title and my text.
Oh for Pete’s sake . . . That’s what I get for not paying attention 🤓
A color-coordinated killer. This is a pretty nifty shot. And the perch isn’t so bad — at least it is wood and there’s no devil wire to sully the image. He is a handsome little fella. ❤️
Yup, perches fall on an aesthetic continuum. This one’s somewhere in the middle. Thanks Marty.
I agree. Picture perfect. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Thanks, Jean.
He is a beauty. A deceptively soft and endearing little beauty – until your eye hones in on those talons.
I see (and even understand) your objection to his perch – and am glad that the bird cares not a jot.
I’m also glad he doesn’t care, EC. What matters most is that it’s functional for the bird.
I do love the color scheme. Maybe we can have a boy scout project build a few platforms and perches for the raptors to hunt from in the bay. Most of the trees and taller brush they use to roost in are gone. Like the old cottonwood snags in BRMBR. I wish they would leave those in the river too. The birds like them and it is a nice natural setting for photos.
EC a tidbit you might find funny. In the US we call downed trees and large branches in rivers and lakes a snag. Probably because you can snag a fishing line or boat on the debris. While canoeing in Australia I kept warning my Australian boat mate there was a snag to the left or right of us to avoid. She finally said ” Where? I don’t see any sausages in the water, you are making me hungry!”
Smiling here. We always used the word snag as you do – perhaps because my father was a fisherman. Sausages were were called snags but also known as a range of other things including mystery bags (a not inaccurate description). A newly arrived Polish workmate was invited to a barbecue. She was excited to be told that sausages were on the menu – and appalled when she ate one. My German father wasn’t a fan either.
April, I’d like to see them plant native trees and busheses at Farmington. At least enough to replace those that are now gone.
As a kid when I wandered out that way there were many old cottonwoods and elms. Did they clear them out after Legacy Highway was built?
Beautiful little “assassin”……😉 The colors of the Kestrel and the background work great! 😀 Post certainly doesn’t detract in this case…..
Thanks, Judy.
Very nice, Ron. The soft blue stripe goes wonderfully with the bird’s blue.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your other followers!
Thank you, Nancy.
Your efforts to get this shot paid off handsomely. The detail and composition are super. Isn’t it ironic that, despite their confounding artificiality and ubiquity (not to mention hazards to wildlife), poles, posts, lines and such allow us to see and appreciate so many more birds– especially raptors, it seems.
I’ve thought of that irony many times myself, Lyle. Thanks.
You’ve ruined me. I looked before reading and said to myself, “dang that perch!” Lol it is truly gorgeous otherwise. 🙂
“You’ve ruined me”
Made me smile, Arwen.
What a BEAUTY! But that’s who Kestrels are, especially the males.
Y’all realize that you’ve sent this diminutive jewel off in search of the largest bison in the herd, don’t you? 😉
Are you having difficulty posting your blog? I’ve been having trouble seeing your posts on FB so I’ve been refreshing the previous day’s post to get to the current one. That hasn’t worked today and I was SO hoping to achieve MY objective of being the first to post this morning 😉
Laura, there aren’t any problems with my blog locally or on FB that I know of. No one else has reported any and I haven’t seen any on my end.
Well, poop! NOW, it’s working, but earlier it wasn’t. Have I mentioned that I’m a luddite where computer things are concerned?
Good. You had me a little concerned.
Beautiful photo Ron of one of my favorite guys. He is indeed a fierce little fighter. I love to watch them go after larger raptors who land on their perch. Fearless. I had one yesterday morning on a natural perch that you would have loved.
Happy Thanksgiving greetings to you and all your FP followers.
Everett, at Farmington natural elevated perches are at a premium so I don’t often get the in my photos. When I do they seem to be buried in the leaves and branches.
Beauty full, thanks for this and thankful to be able to see photos of so many of our avian neighbors.
Happy Thanksgiving, Ron!
Thank you, Mary. You too.
I think this image is just breathtaking–especially the beautifully consonant
colors in bird and background…….another lucky detail, to my eye, is that
the top of the post is tapered, rather than the usual blunt horizontal cut,
which gives the small bird a nicely proportioned pedestal—a CLASSIC !
Good point about the tapered perch, Kris. You’re right.
Beautiful bird and background, Ron. I spend plenty of time taking photos of Kestrels, as they are the most abundant raptor in my area. I have found the females are more forgiving of photographers than the males and sometimes even allow a close approach. Is this something you’ve experienced?
I’ve never noticed it, Dan. I seem to photograph significantly more males than females so assuming their sex ratio is 50/50 I’d have guessed it was just the opposite. But now that you mention it I’ll pay more attention.
A truly handsome little fella! Thank you for sharing and wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow.
Thanks, Cindy. The same to you.
In my neck of the woods, this is an extraordinarily difficult species to find and photograph apart from those perched on power lines along roads. And even then, most of the time I can’t find a place to pull off the road. Although your perch is man-made, at least it’s a natural material, wood. It’s a beautiful photograph and I can certainly understand why it tickles your fancy. It does mine too!
Here in north Texas, a friend of mine is involved in research on American Kestrels. You might be interested in this article… https://www.audubon.org/news/as-american-kestrels-mysteriously-decline-researchers-look-their-migration-clues?fbclid=IwAR2CN1PeGO541g50rCSJwaTARVeDerVFbWPz0ebBmPG7hAF4eVJ_nDHkHIk
David, they’re the same way around here for most of the year but in winter or on very cold early mornings they tend to become more sticky.
Thanks for the link. That first photo is quite the shot.
Hi Ron, In my opinion it’s the perfect photo without the background out of focus distractions. A handsome bird! Don
Thanks, Don. “Perfect” or not it’s close enough for me to like it a lot.