Yesterday morning we were witness to a tense drama involving a badger and Long-tailed Weasels on Antelope Island. American badgers feed primarily on rodents (ground squirrels, pocket gophers, rats, mice and voles) which they often capture by digging out their burrows – the digging skills of badgers are legendary.
But on this day a close relative was on the menu.
If anything will get my adrenalin gushing it’s a wild Peregrine Falcon, especially if the encounter is unexpected and I make a rookie mistake.
Partially based on input from my readers I’ve been thinking more about styles in my bird photography.
Most adult voles I see are about the same size but occasionally I notice one that appears to have been on an extended steroid regimen. Perhaps they’re not voles at all…?
When a raptor dives on prey from an elevated perch one has the opportunity for fairly dramatic flight shots because of the angle of attack and wing position.
It’s become our tradition to spend New Year’s Day in northern Box Elder County looking for raptors. Just over two weeks ago this adult Red-tail gave me a good look at the entirety of its visible plumage.
In previous posts of this male Barn Owl I mentioned that he had good hunting success while I was with him. Here’s evidence of that fact – three butt-shots in flight with prey.
Yesterday was chock full of avian surprises!
It was overcast and gloomy the entire day, the kind of day we normally stay home, but in an effort to relieve cabin fever we finally broke down and left for Farmington at midday. While there we didn’t see many birds and almost left for home after one tour of the area but at the last minute decided to do another. That’s when this cooperative Barn Owl came into play.
Nine days ago at Farmington Bay the weather and the light were uncooperative but this female American Kestrel more than made up for it.
(Note: I needed twelve images to tell this story so don’t be surprised if this post takes longer than usual to load.)
It’s pretty unusual to be able to see prey in the talons with a topside view of a hawk in flight.
Typically Northern Harriers in flight studiously avoid my vehicle but occasionally (very occasionally) one will continue to circle and come in quite close. On the rare occasion when this happens I always wonder why.
This female American Kestrel has been hanging around the same area of Farmington for almost two weeks now. Yesterday morning we found her near the end of one of her meals.
