{"id":105212,"date":"2021-12-19T04:57:15","date_gmt":"2021-12-19T11:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=105212"},"modified":"2021-12-19T05:41:38","modified_gmt":"2021-12-19T12:41:38","slug":"prairie-falcon-trying-to-carry-a-richardsons-ground-squirrel-in-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/19\/prairie-falcon-trying-to-carry-a-richardsons-ground-squirrel-in-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Prairie Falcon Trying To Carry A Richardson’s Ground Squirrel In Flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

A classic case of biting off more than you can chew.<\/p>\n

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1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

In July of 2017 while I was negotiating some of the more remote dirt roads of Montana’s Red Rock Lakes NWR I spotted a larger bird repeatedly jumping up out of the tall grasses several hundred yards away. At first I couldn’t tell what it was. I actually thought it might be a Sage Grouse but as I got a little closer and looked at it through my lens I could just barely see enough of it to tell that it was a Prairie Falcon. ‘He’ was still a long way from me and mostly hidden by the vegetation.<\/p>\n

And he had large prey.<\/p>\n

I’ve posted the photo above before but the next one is new to Feathered Photography.<\/em><\/p>\n

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1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

He kept trying to fly off with the prey, which turned out to be a Richardson’s Ground Squirrel, but it was just too heavy. When he would take off his initial jump would launch him into tentative flight for a moment but he could only fly a few feet before the weight of the large rodent dragged him back down to terra firma. And that happened repeatedly.<\/p>\n

He was always so close to the tall grasses and we were both so low to the ground I had a very difficult time getting my focusing point to lock onto him rather than the vegetation. This shot was the best I could do. Eventually, after trying to fly quite a few times, he became so far away from me I left him and drove down the dirt road to look for other birds.<\/p>\n

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There’s an obvious question: Why was he so intent on flying off with the rodent rather than eating it in place? I believe I know the most likely answer. The large valley has many much larger raptors, including Red-tailed Hawks, Ferruginous Hawks, Golden Eagles and Bald Eagles, that would steal prey from the smaller falcon in a heartbeat if given the opportunity.<\/p>\n

So I believe the falcon was trying to carry the squirrel to a more hidden and secure location where he could enjoy his meal in peace.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

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