This male American Kestrel got quite the surprise.
1/1000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 400mm, metal post removed, not baited, set up or called in
I photographed him two days ago as he was beginning to feed on a small rodent atop a tall pole along the Antelope Island causeway. Usually those rodents are voles but this one appeared to be a mouse because it had a longer tail and a white belly. Because of the steep angle I wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the photo-op but I’m always interested in behaviors so I kept him in my sights just in case something interesting happened. The vole appeared to be already dead but suddenly (in the previous image) it’s tail twitched and jerked upward.
This was the reaction of the kestrel to that apparent resurrection of the mouse – he raised his wings and chomped down hard on the head of the rodent. He almost appears to be furious that the mouse would have the gall to wake up again. I’m not sure it really did “wake up” – the movement of the rodent could have been caused by the weight of the kestrel but either way this instinctive reaction of the falcon was instantaneous.
It made me laugh as I reviewed my photos so I though others might enjoy it too, despite the steepness of the angle.
Ron
Notes:
- I took the liberty of removing a very distracting metal pole attached to this wooden post. I just couldn’t enjoy the behavior with it there.
- There’s a lot of excitement in the northern Utah birding community right now because a Snowy Owl has been seen twice at Bear River MBR by refuge employees. The refuge will be overflowing with hopeful birders and photographers today who hope to get lucky with the owl but I’m stuck at home. My camera (not my lens) is scheduled to be delivered today and I don’t dare have them leave it on my doorstep. The FedEx delivery schedule says I will get it “by 8pm” so it’s likely going to be a long day and the same thing could happen tomorrow with my lens. Damned timing!
Okay, this made me laugh. He does look peeved!
My husband and I had the pleasure of seeing a little male hit something in the grass. We had to brake to avoid hitting it but the kestrel was intent!
It made me think of Monty Python and the Holy Grail:
Mouse: I’m not dead yet.
Fluffy Assassin: Yes you are!
I can’t think that it would be pleasant looking for the Snowy Owl in a cast of thousands. And hope your equiptment is delivered early. And safely.
EC, they didn’t find the snowy this morning so that eases some of my disappointment that I couldn’t go. It was very foggy out there so no one could see very far.
Wouldn’t it be funny if the Snowy showed up in your big backyard tree, sitting where the eagle sat…and only you and Mia knew about it!!!?
I feel your pain. Yours not the mouses. Waiting for equipment deliveries can be a sort of torture, not to be wished upon any image junkie in need of a fix. Waiting for a call from the repair shop not any better either. I wish CPS worked on older equipment, but I understand the need to draw the line somewhere. I’m just used to the quick turnaround CPS provides and waiting sucks
I can only imagine the feeding frenzy out there at Bear River MBR. The weekend should be special as well. I imagine the rural roads to the north will have plenty of additional traffic too. I guess it’s easier to hunt in a pack. Are “Eagle Days” going on at Farmington Bay as well?
Neil, the wait should be over fairly soon – the lens is supposed to be delivered tomorrow.
The last I heard, Eagle Day is still going to be observed but they aren’t trucking carp into Farmington (a good decision, IMO) so I doubt there’ll be many eagles close to the road.
How DARE that rodent twitch! “I KEEL you again!” I swear Kestrels could take down a bison if they chose to do it. It’s just a matter of what to do with all the leftovers (as in Thanksgiving) 😀
I’ve come to HATE FedEx deliveries. They refuse to bother to knock on the door or ring the doorbell. They just leave whatever it is on the doorstep and skedaddle. My last FedEx delivery, a small gift book that I didn’t know was coming that windy day, ended up in the middle of the street, run over by several cars. Not that it will do any good, but I wrote a scathing letter to FedEx. I think I do my best writing when I’m all POed, using big and little words that slice you like a rapier! At least my hawk food seller puts a tracking notification on the shipment so I know when to expect delivery. UPS and USPS will knock/ring the doorbell, but not FedEx.
As for sighting/photographing rare birds, I know I keep my mouth/fingers shut until well after the fact. Until humans get a little respect for the wild world, they can just damn well go without seeing/photographing the bird/critter in question. I’m often ashamed of my species for our utter stupidity and arrogance. Of course, I’d call you, but I’m not in Utah! Sigh!
Laura, the news of the snowy spread like wildfire yesterday afternoon – it’s a feeding frenzy out there.
Regarding kestrel leftovers, I saw a male kestrel cache half of a vole a few days ago – pretty neat!
GO!!! YOU’re missing a great opportunity!!! Put up a tiny stand in the back of your pickup and sell hot dogs, hot coffee, hot chocolate, popcorn and chocolate donuts!!! Heck, I’ll come myself for the donuts!!!….
Laura–believe it or not, I actually saw a Kestrel take down a full grown bison bull last year on April 1st….it was amazing!!! Fortunately it was quick and the bison didn’t suffer….Wham! Bam! And it was over!!! Incredible!!!
Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha……………..!!
Awesome image of the kestrel’s reaction Ron! Also a study on how it uses it’s tail for stability and balance!
Good point about the tail, Nancy.
Poor vole!!! I wish there was some kind of predator that ate the “rats” that stole the FEDX and UPS stuff delivered to people’s houses!
Ha, great thought, Patty. And I wouldn’t even mind much if they left the gut piles of those thieves on my doorstep…
Great shot, Ron! 🙂 I’ve watched a mouse or vole jump at the dog and give it a start. 🙂 Good luck with the snowy! There was a picture of one in the paper recently captured in NE MT I believe – envy in spades! 🙂 I’m fortunate to be far enough off the road as far as deliveries – main problem is they don’t use their GPS and things have ended up at a neighbor who wasn’t home for days with FedEx – UPS better for us.
“There was a picture of one in the paper recently captured in NE MT I believe”
Judy, Snowy Owls have been photographed by a FB friend of mine just outside of my home town (Cut Bank) in NW Montana this winter. It’s been years since I’ve been there in mid-winter but I must admit that the thought of visiting has recently crossed my mind.
That Snowy Owl episode reminds me of a similar birding community excitement that happened last January in Netherlands. A very rare Siberian Calliope a bird from Siberian taiga (its presence in Western Europe is exceptional) shown up on a dutch private garden and the result was and I quote: “Dozens of observers quickly began to queue outside the door of the Boer Hanneke home in order to observe the rarity from his living room. To let this “crowd”, the owner had to move his furniture. Wishing to take advantage of this “opportunity”, she decided to ask 5 euros to people who managed to see “the object of their desire.” And children have also been able to exploit this busy selling coffee and chocolate to people queuing in the cold. A neighbor even offered to rent a room for 5 euros per person. Teams television channels NOS, RTL Nieuws and RTV Noord-Holland have been reporting on this ornithological event.”
It seems that birding community reaction is the same everywhere.
Hope your camera arrives safely.
The situation you describe sounds like a nightmare to me, Jorge. Makes me jittery just to think of it (and I’m not kidding…).
I know what you mean about the crowds…so often I hear about something very interesting and want to go see it, but then think of the crowds and never do go….too damned many people, too many ignorant behaviours and comments…just can’t hack it, just want to flee…..
Good Morning Ron, nice photo, A bit of a surprise for the Kestrel.
Yes I don’t like waiting all day but when you got something valuable you really can’t leave it on the doorstep. Here in Phoenix during the Christmas season they showed people shadowing the FedEx/UPS delivery trucks and then going right up on the peoples porch and picking up the package and taking off. During the Christmas season it was an every day thing.
We’ve always had a PO Box. Even though the sellers say they don’t deliver to PO Boxes, we give them the post office’s physical address and show our PO Box number as a unit number. So far has work real well. My Ham radio came that way last week.
David, we’ve had a rash of the same thing around here – folks stealing packages from doorsteps. That’s why it makes me so nervous.
I am waiting for a package thief steel my shipment of meal worms or frozen mice. Although costly and inconvenient to me I can imagine with glee the look on the thief’s face when the package was opened.
Ah yes, timing, those damed things! i know those well.
My thoughts and prayers are with you that you get your camera and lens back in good shape ready to get a shot of the snowy!!
Great shot and thanks for the note about removing the pole.
Dick, to be perfectly honest I have mixed emotions about going after the snowy. I’d love to see it (I’ve never seen one in the wild) and even get a few shots of it from a distance but I expect it to be a real zoo up there for the next few days and I don’t deal well with crowds.
What I’d really like to do is spend the morning at Farmington while (presumably) everyone else is up north but even that is very unlikely to happen. I just have to go with the flow I guess but it isn’t easy…
Weekdays, weekdays NOT on weekends – they will still be around if the hunting is good.
Wonderful behavioral shot, Ron!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
Beautiful little killer. . .
They sure are!