American Kestrels have long been North America’s most abundant bird of prey but over recent decades their numbers have declined precipitously. For that reason I pay particular notice to kestrel numbers when I return to the same area year after year and because I spend so much time in southwest Montana that region is near the top of my “kestrel watching” areas.
I won’t soon forget being allowed so close to these wild, quintessential swans that came so very close to extinction.
About three weeks ago I was able to photograph adult female Greater Sage-Grouse and their chicks in the Centennial Valley of southwest Montana. This species is on the cusp of a threatened species designation so I’m always thrilled to be able to see and photograph them in their natural, wild habitat. Believe me, it doesn’t happen very often.
I’ve always loved ravens. I appreciate their intelligence, their adaptability and their association with myth and mystery in human folklore. I also enjoy their playfulness. But here in Utah the future is not looking bright for our two largest corvid species, the Common Raven and the American Crow.
Last week we found ourselves at eye level with a small group of very wary Greater Sage Grouse.
Two years ago Utah established the Mule Deer Protection Act which provided $500,000 to pay “hunters” $50 for every coyote they kill.
Burrowing Owls are among my favorite species to experience and photograph but in recent years some of the joy has been taken out of it.
Two weeks ago I reported a banded Tundra Swan I photographed at Salt Creek WMA. It wasn’t long before I received some interesting information back about that bird from the North American Bird Banding Program.
With all the recent bad news about critters suffering and dying at the hand of man it’s so refreshing to come across one who has defied the odds and not only survived, but thrived!
By definition there is often a price to be paid for ethical nature photography since the image you get may not be the one you envisioned or hoped for.
For years managers at Farmington Bay WMA have killed carp as a management tool. The dead fish bring in hundreds of Bald Eagles but this year, because of the West Nile Virus outbreak in the eagle population, managers had to decide whether or not to proceed with the fish kill. That decision has been made.
A Bald Eagle in my own suburban yard in the middle of a big city – yesterday it happened once again! But my delight was tempered by something ominous.
Yesterday’s post of the Barn Owl with a mouse (instead of a vole) reminded me of this American Kestrel with another mouse, also at Farmington WMA. I’m wondering if mice have now largely replaced microtine voles at Farmington and if that’s not a harbinger of even worse things to come..
Although the American Coot is almost exclusively a herbivore it will occasionally make an exception and eat animal matter. They’re also well-known for food thievery (kleptoparasitism) and two days ago this Pied-billed Grebe nearly became one of its victims.
