He just couldn’t make up his mind.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 640, 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 found this male American Kestrel beginning to enjoy his breakfast vole three years ago at Farmington Bay WMA. I could tell he was uncomfortable about eating his meal so close to the road so I was primed for catching him taking off with the vole. But he faked me out more than once.
He vacillated several times between taking off to his right and to his left. Here he’d picked the vole up in his beak and looked to his left as if he was going to take off away from me in that direction.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Instead he surprised me by changing his mind and grasping the vole in his talons prior to taking off to my left. This shot caught him just as he was beginning to raise his wings for launch. He actually extended his wings all the way out but didn’t take off – a behavior I find to be fairly common in falcons.
Then he just sat there trying to decide if he wanted to take off, and if he did which way to go. Eventually he took off to my left but his face was shaded in both takeoff shots I managed to get.
In particular I liked my series of shots like the first one above with the vole hanging down from his beak. The clean background behind the vole allows us an excellent look at the deceased little rodent without any blood or gory bits visible to disturb sensitive viewers. The wooden post is about as old and weathered as they come and I like the complementary colors of bird and background.
I posted other photos of this bird three years ago but I thought these two also deserved their moment in the sun..
Ron
Addendum: Since I mentioned in my text that he fully extended his wings without actually taking off I decided I should have included one of those photos in my original post. I posted this shot three years ago. Notice the tiny bit of vole flesh stuck to his lower mandible in this photo and the previous one.
I had forgotten the relative size of eater vs. eaten — that vole’s almost as big as he is and probably weighs at least as much or more! Talk about a feisty falcon!
“Notice the tiny bit of vole flesh stuck to his lower mandible in this photo and the previous one.” That’s the amuse bouche to whet his appetite. 😉
Speaking of appetites, I would have LOVED the Roadkill Cafe menu and would have proudly displayed it in my classroom, alongside its kin. (Yes, I had some weird shit in my room along with the typical more motivational posters.)
Marty, I think that vole was a bit larger than most of them. It’s surprising how much their size can vary.
Very nice series. Sometimes I think the thoughts going through their head are, should I stay and just eat it, will the person watching me eat me or steal my vole, will I catch more attention by flying and loose my vole by theft or dropping it, will I need to fight off the thief, how can I best outmaneuver the thief, all those thoughts in a nano second.
You may be right about all of them, April.
I do appreciate a less-bloody victim in your photos of raptor and prey. 😬 That little vole hanging from the Kestrel’s beak reminds me of a stuffed critter (bear or rabbit?) that I used to drag around with its poor broken neck. I don’t imagine this guy toyed with his tasty morsel for long!
Chris, you’re not the only blog follower who doesn’t appreciate gore but in this context it doesn’t bother me.
You might be surprised how many grisly photos I have that I haven’t posted for that very reason. When I do post one of them I usually warn readers before they get to it.
That was one hearty meal ❗️ What’s not to love about him, look at those colors. Hope to see one someday 😁
Enjoy your day
Thank you, Diana.
Cool! Beautiful capture of the kestrel and is prey. Guessing he didn’t want his attention divided between his meal and possible threats from the road but “where to go?”. 😀
Judy, I think you’re right about the reason for his indecision.
Beautiful shots Ron. It’s funny how he toyed with you a bit and kept you guessing. I’m very happy you included the takeoff tease photo. As I was reading the part of your post where you mentioned it I was wondering where the photo was. It’s a great shot with terrific colors. Hope he enjoyed his breakfast.
Thanks, Mark. I think he was able to enjoy his breakfast after he got further away from the road.
That post is actually Kestrel Cafe—You kill it, you eat it. They have a daily blue plate special that included a half vole and grasshopper fries.
Arwen, your comment reminded me of something. Years ago when I was teaching I had a very realistic-looking but fake menu from an eating establishment called the Roadkill Cafe. The description of each item on the menu was enough to turn your stomach so I had a LOT of fun with it in my classroom.
Oh I have seen that…or a version of that. 🙂
LOL!!
That first one is especially good. Both photos really pick up the beautiful bold colors of the kestrel. That vole sure looks large hanging straight down from the kestrel’s beak. Great shots. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe we have seen that old weathered post many times in past posts?
Yes, it’s a favorite kestrel perch on the refuge. Farmington doesn’t have many elevated perches so the ones they do have are used often. Thanks, Everett.