Grasshoppers are not typical prey for Prairie Falcons. Studies indicate that the main foods taken are other birds (Horned Larks and meadowlarks are favorites), small mammals and lizards but in a pinch they do consume flying insects, including grasshoppers. This bird was intent on doing just that.
Usually any photo opportunity I have with Golden Eagles is fleeting but this bird and a companion were the exception.
When I see something in my images that I can’t explain it piques my interest. Even when it’s something relatively minor.
I don’t often have opportunities with Peregrine Falcons in flight but this bird changed my fortunes for the better.
These images combined the old and the new – my “ancient” 100-400mm zoom lens and the new 7D Mark II camera.
Several summers ago this juvenile Swainson’s Hawk in southwest Montana allowed me to photograph it performing some interesting behaviors.
Managing species in distress can be a complex and potentially contradictory endeavor.
As a bird photographer my attitude toward excrement-stained perches has evolved, especially when it involves raptors.
Knowing behaviors of your subject can be a great help in anticipating raptor take-off and bird photographers need all the help we can get.
Yesterday was a day I won’t soon forget as I saw and photographed a Gyrfalcon here in Utah. The Utah Bird Records Committee has accepted only six previous records of Gyrfalcons in Utah and the most recent one was in 2001.
This female American Kestrel is the apparent mate to the male I posted two days ago.
Occasionally a situation with low potential can unexpectedly result in a nice flight shot, or even two.
For the past several weeks I’ve been receiving almost daily requests for the current and anticipated Bald Eagle situation at Farmington Bay WMA so this morning I’ve decided to be a little proactive with a blog post that covers most everything I know on the subject.
