Just a simple shot of a handsome little male American Kestrel this morning.
1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in
This image was taken just after the sun came up on a cold morning a few months ago so the light is warm and the falcon is fluffed up to conserve heat. His perch is dormant rabbitbrush. When kestrels erect their scapulars like this it often looks like they’re wearing shoulder pads.
I’m still concerned about our kestrels this spring. I’m seeing fewer of them than usual for this time of year and hearing reports of a significant number of unused nest boxes and dead kestrels found in some of those boxes (apparent winter-kills). It was an unusually harsh winter, so perhaps it’s just that more of them than usual went south for the worst of it and are still straggling in.
Hope so…
Ron
This is a beautiful shot (no JUST about it). Thank you. And I do hope that the kestrel scarcity is both local and temporary.
Little Big Man! Love those sharp pixie talons interlocked with the hard sharp rabbitbrush, and the warm catchlight in his eye.
There are none in the nest boxes Hawkwatch monitors in Farmington Bay. So sad.
I’d heard the same thing, Tana. And FB has been jumping with kestrels for years. Something weird must be going on, at least locally.
Thank you very much everyone, for your comments on this image. I’ve been out of town for a few days on a camping/photo trip to the west desert and have been unable to respond to comments. I want you all to know that they are appreciated, a lot.
And I came home to a broken sprinkler system which has me under the gun for time so I’m hoping you’ll forgive a “group thank you” on this post and perhaps even my previous one. Time is at a premium right now.
The news from the desert was both good and bad. Spring birds are very late this year (most folks I talk to agree, including the manager at Fish Springs NWR) so I was unable to get many images of birds that I like on this trip. However, I was heartened a little by the kestrels I saw out there. Though I didn’t get close to many of them (with one exception) I did see quite a few – perhaps even slightly more than usual. I’m hoping what I think I’m noticing in my home area (an unusual lack of kestrels) is just a local phenomenon.
Fingers crossed…
This little raptor is a real beauty and the light is perfect for showing us all the colors on that bird. I hope that its number will not decreased as it did for us up north. It’s hard to point out what is the problem causing the decreasing of its population. This bird feeds on big insects (like grasshoppers), small rodents, reptiles and birds when they are available. Probably there is not only ONE problem. I hope the kestrel population in your area will stay at least at the same level.
Thank you for sharing! A wonderful photo indeed! Love how he’s puffed up! Crossing my fingers that kestrels this year have many successful breeding season with less predatory lurking on their young!
I really hope that the kestrels aren’t declining. Having the opportunity as we have this year to watch them in action, has made me fall in love with them. They are wonderful, feisty little birds, a force to be reckoned with, as the local grackles have learned the hard way. A couple of days ago I actually saw 5 kestrels spiraling around each other for a few seconds. This photo definitely captures the essence of this bird.
Mmmmm. What a beauty!
He is a handsome fellow, indeed. A lovely image to start the day.
…gorgeous bird…gorgeous photo Ron! We can only hope their future gets brighter!
Sensational shot of a very beautiful little bird.
Ron, I know the Peregrine Fund in Boisie is researching AMKEs trying to learn the reason for their apparent decline
They list multiple possible factors in confirmation of your expert observations
Your kestrel photos make me happy
Great shot Ron, beautiful bird, sharp, tack on!!
This one is definitely sitting pretty!
Best regards, Paul.
Lovely shot. The first bird I released from rehab was a kestrel and I cannot accurately tell you the frisson I felt…