I have another sexy story to tell about my favorite American Kestrel (I call him AOM because that’s what it says on his green leg band) and his mate. But this time there are too many photos involved for a single blog post so I’ll publish Part 2 in a day or two.
On February 10th I photographed AOM mating with his lady on the roof of an Antelope Island pavilion and I posted some of those photos four days later. Well, six days ago something similar happened while I was there to document it.
When I pulled up on the pavilion at the crack of dawn, AOM (on the right) and his mate were huddled together in the cold. Even though they seemed to be making googly eyes at each other (again), I didn’t think they’d be mating anytime soon because of the pretty intense cold. Instead, at first they were all fluffed up like this in order to keep warm.
For the first few minutes that morning, the cold was causing temperature variations that caused my first kestrel photos to be a little soft. This first photo is one of them, but the problem mostly cleared up pretty quickly.
But less than two minutes later the female moved in front of him, stopped and presented to him a moderate version of a solicitation posture.
But he made it clear that he wasn’t interested in romance by stomping away from her and…
performing a leisurely wing and tail stretch. She thought about it for a while before she…
walked directly in front of him again, stopped and then…
performed another solicitation posture – this time with her tail a little higher and her head a little lower. But he responded the same way by walking further to his left…
squatting down on the roof and completely ignoring her. She looked frustrated but she wasn’t about to give up. Not yet anyway.
She walked directly in front of him a third time and he…
responded by walking away from her again.
And when she performed an even more exaggerated solicitation posture, his response was to…
take off, fly around behind her and…
land on the same spot on the south end of the roof where he’d begun – leaving her high and dry and almost certainly frustrated.
In a little over two minutes she’d tried to seduce him three times. At this point I figured she’d take the hint and give up, but this story isn’t over yet. I plan on telling the rest of it in a couple of days, or possibly tomorrow if I can get the necessary photos processed by then.
Sorry for the delay but life’s been crazy. Getting my new camping trailer ready for its maiden voyage has proven to be far more time consuming than I expected.
Ron
What a wonderful series of one of my fav little hawks. I wonder why he snubbed her. Anxious to see Part 2!
Also happy for you to have a new camper. It’s past time to have more comfort! I missed the pic (s) of it but interested to see.
Interesting – for sure -and the photos are great. Waiting for the next episode :))
Love it. Can’t wait.
Thanks, Susan.
Kestrel romcom, indeed! So great that you were able to capture this sequence that tells a wildlife story that we humans don’t normally have access to. Can’t wait for AOM—TRL, Part Deux.
Chris, after Michael used “romcom” in his comment I wished I’d used it in my post. After your comment I wish I’d used it even more.
I’d say that he’s a bit more than just “reluctant” — guy doesn’t know when he has a good thing staring him right in the…er…face.
Thanks for the giggle this morning, Ron! I really needed it. Perfect storytelling by the master.
“I really needed it.”
Marty, the way things are going I think most of us needed it. Thank you.
Great interaction witnessed by you during a half hour or so. It’s fascinating to think what they are up to during the rest of the day. How many times has she been rejected ( or not) during the rest of the day?
I wonder the same thing, John. Based on what I’ve seen, they “go at it” fairly often in the early morning but they seem to leave and spend the rest of the morning out hunting. I wonder if the same ‘randy’ behavior goes on when they return in the evening.
Oh, his poor lady! Somehow his posture in photo #3, with that raised foot, the toes spread – your description of him “stomping” off – is just perfect for what seems to be going on.
Definitely looking forward to Part 2!
Thank you, Carolyn. By saying “stomping off” I may have been editorializing a bit but if so, it wasn’t by much.
Funny!
Usually it’s the female who’s the reluctant partner in these things! 
Always things to “arrange” for a new camper so it works for you.
Finches came back with the storm in spades – many “spooky” so don’t know if they were “new” or had had tough sledding on their return to the mountains.
“Usually it’s the female who’s the reluctant partner in these things!”
Judy, that’s exactly what a good friend of mine said on Facebook about this post. And I had the same thought.
AOM says,”Honey its too cold, let’s wait till tomorrow and see if it
warms up.” Excellent series and somewhat comical. Good photography and captions etc. We have a banded eagle here who I always refer to as 53A.
Thanks, Everett. It’s funny how band script can serve as a bird’s name. Works for me anyway…
What a hilarious sequence! And what cute little puff balls they are. Can’t wait for the next posting to see how it ends!
Also I studied your new camper when you first posted it. It looks so comfortable and practical. We are still tent camping and talking about how nice a camper will be someday. Thank you for posting and sharing that video- it was very enticing. And look forward to hearing about your first trip!
Thanks, Jo.
Like new houses, new cars and new spouses, no new camper is perfect. There are always compromises. But this new camper fits my needs better than any of the others have. So far at least…
Great title, and what a photographic catch! Perhaps it is impolite, but I was chuckling through reading and looking at the whole post. Some kind of American Kestrel romcom. I thought for sure AOM would have a go on that third offering. Kinda feel bad for her.
Anxiously awaiting the second chapter.
“Great title.”
Glad you like it, Michael. I waffled between using Lothario or Cassanova for quite a while, but in the end settled on Lothario. I think it works just a little better.