This might just be the rattiest looking raptor I’ve ever encountered in the wild.
I found this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk three days ago in Box Elder County, Utah. It was too far away for good photos but even so I scoped it out with my lens for ID and to look for anything unusual.
I’ve noticed an apparent behavioral quirk in some of the falcon species I’ve photographed and it’s tweaked my curiosity a bit. I’ve seen it most often in Prairie Falcons but that’s most likely because I get more opportunities with that species than I do any other of the large falcons. More often than not the Prairie Falcon holds its wings up or out (or both) for a few moments before it takes off. Sometimes the posture is maintained for quite a while. This is one of the better shots I have of it. Most of the photos to follow have reduced image quality but I include them to document the behavior. This bird held the posture for so long that I filled my buffer twice before it actually took off. Most often I’ve seen it prior to take-off from an elevated perch like this one but it also happens occasionally when they take off from the ground. Another Prairie Falcon showing the posture. I don’t see it nearly as often with the American Kestrel as I do with larger falcons. Perhaps that has to do with the relative ease of take-off for this diminutive falcon. I get few opportunities with Merlins but I’ve noticed it occasionally with this species also. I’m not sure if Peregrine Falcons do it. Usually when I’ve been close enough to photograph peregrines they’ve been on prey on the ground and they may be less likely to show the behavior when taking off from a…
If you’re a regular reader of this blog you know that I’ve had some reservations about falconry in the past. After extensive discussion here, with input from falconers, I no longer have many of those concerns. Last night Mark Runnels (one of the falconers involved in that discussion) sent me the link to a video clip that has simply fascinated me and I just had to share it. Like many others I sometimes fantasize about flight, especially as I watch a raptor soaring on the updrafts. The feeling of freedom and the ever-changing spectacular views that would come with three-dimensional mobility would be such an incredible rush. And if it could be done in silence (without engine noise) so that the only sound would be that of the air rushing by, so much the better. I’ve often watched raptors playing “tag” with each other on the air currents and wondered what it would be like to join them. Well, this must be pretty close to that experience. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. Link below. Parahawking Thanks once again, Mark. Ron
Yesterday morning we found the female American Kestrel with attached jesses once again. This time we were able to get a little closer to her than we had before. This little lady is more difficult to approach than most other kestrels on the island. 1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light I think she looks and acts healthy. She’s actively hunting and based on the blood on her jesses (most likely from voles) I’d guess that she’s good at it. I immediately called Becka Butcher, the trapper who has been trying to capture this bird so that the jesses can be removed. Becka made another attempt later in the afternoon but she was unsuccessful. This bird is extremely wary. The kestrel approached the trap, even flew down and investigated it closely but would not enter it. Becka said that she and others who are qualified and licensed will continue to try to capture this bird using more “creative methods”, since traditional traps don’t seem to work on her (a number of attempts have been made). And since she most likely escaped from a rogue, “wannabe” illegal falconer (rather than from an ethical, licensed falconer), once this falcon has been trapped and checked for health issues she will be released back into the wild. A good thing… Ron
Just a quick post this morning to announce some more good news on the “lost falconry bird” front. (no, the female kestrel hasn’t yet been recaptured, but I believe efforts are continuing). For those new to this issue, a quick summary: Occasionally, falconry birds escape through no fault of the handler. When they do, they typically still have falconry gear attached – jesses, anklets, telemetry gear etc. Every effort is made by the falconry community to recapture these birds, usually with success. The larger segment of the problem comes from unethical “rogue” or “wannabe” falconers who capture wild birds illegally and then try to fly them without proper knowledge and experience. Due to negligence or inexperience these illegal birds sometimes escape with their “gear” attached, which puts them at a distinct disadvantage in the wild. My good friend and constant photography companion Mia McPherson and I have come across and photographed three of these escaped birds in the last three years. At least two of the three were most likely the result of rogue falconers rather than the organized falconry community. More details of what has already transpired can be found here. When someone spots one of these escaped birds in the wild, getting through to the “right” person for reporting and appropriate action is cumbersome, time-consuming and frustrating (believe me, I know!). It’s difficult to get through all the layers of DWR’s bureaucracy, finding a rehabber who can help isn’t easy and there hasn’t been an efficient avenue for a non-falconer to report a found bird to the falconry community. The North America Falconer’s Association (NAFA) website…
Recently I’ve photographed and posted about two escaped falconry birds – a female American Kestrel and a Peregrine Falcon. Both were flying free with attached jesses and/or anklets in the vicinity of Antelope Island. Both were reported to wildlife authorities and to the falconry community but each bird has been a challenge to recapture for a variety of reasons – among them the difficulty of getting proper permission for the licensed trapper to attempt the recapture of the kestrel in a state park. There were lots of hoops to jump through. It is very likely, for a variety of reasons, that both of these birds were originally captured illegally by “wannabe” falconers and not by anyone in the organized and licensed falconry community. Two days after we found the kestrel we met the licensed trapper out on the island to point out the area where the bird was hanging out and to try to find her, which we never did. But yesterday morning we spotted the female Kestrel once again, in the very same area where we found her before. She was far off but when she scratched her face one of the jesses became obvious, as you can see in this photo. I immediately called the trapper to report that the bird was in the area again and she was enthusiastic about making the attempt but as far as she knew, permissions from the state still hadn’t been obtained. A little background before I get to the good news. When Mark Runnels (master falconer from Oklahoma) saw my first post on the female kestrel,…
Yesterday morning I spotted this female American Kestrel perched on a far-off rock to the west on Antelope Island. She was much too far away for decent photographs (as is obvious from the mediocre quality of these first five photos) but when I see raptors at most any distance it’s my practice to “scope them out” through my lens so I can ID them and look for anything unusual or interesting. I took a couple of shots for documentary purposes but at first I didn’t notice anything noteworthy about her except for the keratin flaking off of her beak. But then she scratched her face with her foot. Jesses! Those damned jesses again. In this shot you can see anklets above both feet and the jess on the left leg. She perched and preened on the rock for quite a while and a few minutes later she scratched with her other foot which provided a good look at the jess on the right ankle. I’m including this shot for a look at her right side, in the unlikely event that some local falconer may recognize her. I hung around for a long time in the hopes of catching her at take-off for a better look at both jesses and anklets. As luck would have it, when it happened they were both in shade and I lost focus on the bird but the photo still provides a decent look at the jesses. I’m deeply troubled by this event and I’ll provide a little background as…
This post is about behavior. Please don’t expect high quality images… Last March I found this juvenile (I believe) Rough-legged Hawk along the Antelope Island causeway on a cold morning after a light snowfall. It was perched on a windrow of debris consisting mostly of piles of old brine fly pupae casings. For a while the bird seemed content to simply rest and watch me. But soon it apparently got bored… and walked about two feet to my right to investigate a clump of fly casings (red arrow) that had been cemented together by melting snow that had re-frozen during the night. The hawk reached over to grasp the clump with its talons… retrieved the clump,… transferred it to its beak and then instantly tossed it to the ground. I assumed that was that, figuring the bird had thought it might be something edible, then discarded it for good when it wasn’t. But that wasn’t what happened. The hawk grabbed the clump with its talons once again… and then seemed to contemplate for a few seconds about just what to do next. Which turned out to be something like “give the clump a toss and see where it lands”. The hawk immediately started walking over to where the clump had landed behind the mound of fly casings, where it can’t be seen in this image. It used its wings for a little more stability as it negotiated the hill of debris. …
As some of you will remember, I’ve recently made two posts calling into question some of the ethics of the “sport” (some don’t like that term) of falconry. This was the bird that prompted my most recent post – an “escaped” female Peregrine Falcon that I photographed along the Antelope Island causeway a few weeks ago. You’ll notice that she still has her leather falconry anklets above her feet (only one can be seen in this photo). And last year, this escaped male American Kestrel was loose near Farmington Bay WMA and it still had not only its anklets but its jesses. The extreme danger to the bird of having those long, dangling jesses engangle and kill the kestrel is obvious. In both posts I questioned the ethics of falconry in general, but admitting my relative ignorance of the subject I asked (on the second post) for more information from my readers to “enlighten” me on the subject. For those who haven’t seen those posts and have the interest, here’s the links: Escaped Falconry Bird – Peregrine Falcon Escaped Falconry Bird – Peregrine Falcon, Again Mark Runnels, a master falconer from Oklahoma, responded to the second post with a series of very detailed, knowledgeable and thoughtful comments on falconry – responding to each of my concerns dispassionately and eloquently. However, that post was made on September 17 and Mark didn’t begin to comment until October 23, which means that his valuable information likely went under the radar for most of my readers (very few folks come back to a…
This morning, just as the sun was peeking over the mountains, we found this Peregrine Falcon along the Antelope Island Causeway. 1/1000, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in It was feeding on a bird of some kind, possibly prey stolen from another falcon, as we saw two of them as we approached but one flew off. The falcon was intent on its meal and allowed me to photograph it for 22 minutes. The lighting was low and difficult, with the light hitting the bright breast of the bird and leaving its darker parts in shade for much of that time. Photographers will note from my techs that I fiddled with my settings quite a bit – adjusting for the quickly changing light and the removal of my tc in anticipation of take-off. It was a challenging situation for me. 1/640, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in It kept wanting/trying to eat the feet and legs of the bird but as far as I could tell the falcon never actually swallowed them. 1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in This falcon is obviously an escaped Falconry bird – notice the leather falconry anklets just above the feet. Here the falcon turned broadside to the light for just a few moments. 1/3200, f/5, ISO 640, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up…
Early this morning, just as the sun was coming up over the Wasatch Mountains, we came across this adult Peregrine Falcon, with prey, along the causeway to Antelope Island State Park. It is apparently another escaped falconry bird as it had obvious falconry anklets above its feet, though the actual jesses had been removed. 1/500, f/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This first image was taken where we first found it – along the edge of the causeway and next to the Great Salt Lake shoreline. A few seconds after this shot was taken the bird took off. 1/800, f/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc But seven minutes later, as we proceeded along the causeway, we found the bird perched on this highway post. 1/1000, f/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This shot was taken as the falcon took off from the post. You’ll notice that the leather falconry anklets, sans jesses, are apparent in each of the above three images. 1/2000, f/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc And the last time we saw the bird it had landed far away on the large boulders lining the east side of the Antelope Island Marina. We’ve reported this sighting to the Utah Division of Natural Resources and they’ve told us that they will follow up on it. I’ve always admired the sport of falconry on several levels. Falconers generally have a deep devotion and personal attachment to their birds that I respect and they and their organizations have done a lot for raptor conservation…
