A beautiful male in a more colorful winter setting than I usually get.
1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
In early January five years ago I found this male American Kestrel enjoying a morning meal of vole atop a frosty wooden post at Farmington Bay WMA. I got the impression that he wasn’t particularly hungry because, even though he seemed relaxed, he spent much more time doing nothing but calmly looking around than he did eating.
After I took several hundred photos that were very similar to this one he…
1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
eventually picked up the vole in his beak and tried to decide if he was going to take off with it. Eventually he did but it took him a while. He launched away from me so all I got was butt shots of him in flight.
Of the two photos I prefer the second one because in that one we can see most of his tail and in my experience it’s far more unusual to see a kestrel with a vole in its beak than it is to see the vole in the kestrel’s talons.
Ron
Note: Some readers may have noticed that I haven’t included my copyright watermark in these photos. I tried but Photoshop is acting up so it won’t let me. I hope to get it fixed later today. Photoshop can be a PITA.
Sensational shots Ron!
Charlotte Norton
Handsome fella, this feisty falcon.
Agreed.
Hola– just tried clicking in to see if the problem still exists– it does,
and what happens on my Mac is that the reception line flashes
over fully from left to right, then immediately drops back left to a short incomplete line and doesn’t open ( I entered through the “comment”
portal again as earlier– no problem there !)maybe a description will
help you describe to your service what the problem “looks like”.
That info is much appreciated, Kris. I’ll wait to see what happens or doesn’t happen with my next post before I spend much time trying to figure it out. Maybe it’ll fix itself… ?
Very warm light. Lovely images.
Thanks, Kathryn.
Both beautiful, but the “heavy vole in tiny beak” photo is what sends one off to Wikipedia for answers to “How does he do that?” Average vole about 50 grams, 3-9 inches long. (My little hamster size – I can picture that.) Male Kestrel 9-12″, 80-143 grams. So I guess the answer is “Nature is amazing!”
The background is perfect, too – was there an interior designer at your elbow giving advice? 😊👍
“was there an interior designer at your elbow giving advice?”
Not this time, Carolyn. 🙂
But when I’m approaching a bird I do know enough to keep the developing background in mind when I’m deciding precisely where to stop my pickup.
I love these photos. Kestrels are a favorite of mine and this handsome fellow is sporting iconic coloring and markings. Is it possible that he is taking the vole to feed his mate in anticipation of mating and nesting? Perhaps it is too early for courtship behavior. It still amazes me just how many photos you take. How wonderful that digital technology replaced film. Stay warm and safe!!
Melanie, these photos were taken on January 2nd, which I suspect is too early for courtship behavior.
If we were still shooting film I wouldn’t be photographing birds, that’s for sure.
Ir is still v early here but a little later in your day now and the link opened instantly for me. More quickly than I was able to open the link in my reader
This is yet another stunner, though I do feel for the vole. It somehow seems worse to be killed by something that wasn’t particularly hungry.
“It somehow seems worse to be killed by something that wasn’t particularly hungry.”
I know what you mean, EC. But, hungry or not, he’d have eaten that vole at some point. If he didn’t eat it then he’d cache it for future use. I’ve seen kestrels eating (or attempting to eat) cached voles that were frozen hard as a rock from nose to tail tip.
Thank you for that update. Which I knew (having learned from you) but had somehow forgotten. Early morning mind?
Beautiful! Must not have been too hungry as you mentioned not to mention missing a “warm meal”. 😉
My computer complained about loading this this morning but finally did. Perhaps the weather is causing problems?
VERY cold – a -52 windchill in GF. -24 here – it’s getting REAL old. 🙁
I’ve been thinking about you guys up there, Judy. Yes, temps like that get real old, real fast. Hope Joe is beginning to feel better.
Yes, it’s slow going but in the right direction for Joe so far……
Good!
I feel for the Wildlife Ron. The people will be just fine if they practice common sense. This cold spell is killing countless numbers of God’s creatures
I had the same experience as Susan reports. I was determined to see your kestrel, so I tried the “comment” route, and it worked !
Kris, apparently it’s a hiccup with WordPress. Hopefully they’ll get their act together soon.
The link “read more of this post” link didn’t work for me, but the “comment” link did work.
Hmm, wonder what’s going on…
Good morning Ron, I love all your photos. You give me a heartwarming way to start my days, even today when Chicago is anything but warm (-8 degrees).
About the link: it didn’t work for me today on the first try (the new page started to load than hung up). Subsequent attempts were instantly successful. Just as you are – with your photography.
Thanks for the feedback about the link, Marcia. And for your kind words.
Always love a Kestrel photo. What a beauty.
That second photo is unique, and the profile shows more of the colorful plumage these guys have.
Thank you, Michael.
BTW, beautiful shots!
Thanks, Brett.
Hi Ron, your post from today does not seem to open with the link, but opens when I click Comment. Maybe it is my device.
Hmmm, it opens with the email link for me so I don’t know what may be going on, apparently at your end.