American Kestrels are notoriously difficult to approach but bring on the cold and sometimes I think they must have glue on their feet.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Three days ago and only minutes after sunrise I found this handsome male American Kestrel on an unattractive painted metal fence post. It was a very cold morning with temps in the high teens so after a long frigid night I believe his only interest at the time was to warm up in the rays of the rising sun. I approached him slowly in my pickup and very uncharacteristic of kestrels he allowed me to get as close as I wanted/needed to.
I’m convinced this wasn’t a hunting perch, at least not at first. As far as I could tell he wasn’t scanning for prey and he never seemed to be in an alert posture, even with me so close.
The poor guy was just lethargic and cold.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
For the longest time he wouldn’t even give me any variety in poses. Eventually I finally caught him in a head turn and later still a….
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
quick yawn.
After about twenty minutes he finally started preening but I had poor luck getting light in his eye during the process so I haven’t included any of those photos.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
But I did manage to get light in his eye during this post-preening rouse.
When all was said and done I spent 33 minutes up close and personal with this guy and took almost 300 photos of him.
Anyone with significant experience with kestrels knows how difficult they usually are to get close to. If there are two things that kestrels are uncomfortable with it’s humans close to them and humans at eye level with them but this male made a double exception for me (I was at almost perfect eye level with him). In my mind I have no doubt that he did so because of the bitter cold.
I’ve made the same claim about kestrels many times in the past and this guy only reinforced my belief. This reaction to cold isn’t unique to kestrels but it seems to be amplified in them.
Ron
Postscript:
On that same morning an hour and 18 minutes after I first approached the male I found this female kestrel on a perch I like better. But by then it had warmed up significantly so she was very nervous as I tried to approach her. She flew off before I got anywhere near as close as I’d been to the male.
My experience with her is only anecdotal evidence of my ‘theory’ but I still take it as evidence.
The cold temperature made for some terrific photos. Beautiful birds against an excellent background. The temperature-associated inactivity we shall call the Dudley Sticky Phenomenon.
BTW, the lentil loaf was delish; the pumpkin pie, however, need some work.
Pumpkin pie I have never had. Lentil loaf sounds pretty special to me though. Yum (though I would be the only one in this house to appreciate it). But then I also like tofu which my partner calls bean turd.
I’ve said it before, EC. I think I’d like your partner.
Thanks, Lyle. I guess I should give lentil loaf a chance.
The pie had tofu in it, so EC’s partner may be on to something .😉
Ohhhhhhh, pumpkin and bean turd pie. What can I say…
Very nice series. It is good to see kestrels with their numbers declining. We use to have them in our neighborhood but they have disappeared. The project to clean and restore Red Butte gully behind our house took out all the underbrush and old dead wood. It changed the type of wildlife we have. The California Quail are recovering and in larger numbers again. We now have a ton of non native Eastern fox squirrels. I wonder if they took over the nesting cavities or even ate the eggs and young of the kestrels.
Thanks, April. I’ve heard about the explosion of Fox Squirrels in that part of the valley.
I want to fuss at the little guy. “Get your feet off the metal perch, you fool!”
Arwen, there was a weathered old wooden post just a few feet to his right but he wanted to perch on that freezing cold metal. Go figure.
He is truly beautiful and I am glad that he generously allowed you time with him.
I am sticky this morning too. Hot and sticky. And grumpy. Any pesky paparazzi would have to hope that I didn’t stick.
Thanks, EC. Sounds like your summer’s upon you already.
Oh yes. And fires have been burning already, though none near us. Yet.
Damn.
Hot damn.
I think these male Kestrels are my new favorite birds!! So handsome!!
Sheila, they’re a very deserving favorite.
Beautiful Kestrel against the warm background…….😀 Bouncing around when it’s cold is NOT in their best interest creating “windchill” on top of the cold. Glad you were less a threat than the cold…….😉 We’re doing the warm and windy thing here this morning.
Thanks, Judy. Sounds like chinook time for you…
Boy– aren’t Kestrels just the loveliest birds ? The “rouse” photo, and even
the cold-fluffed images are special in that the viewer gets a clear look
at those chevron markings on the torso–really exquisite. Thanks for going
out in the bitter cold and bringing back these beautiful shots for your posse
to see, appreciate, and be reminded of what the wild things endure in the winter cold.
Kris, I often think of the critters out there when it’s bitter cold, especially at night. Those cold nights must seem like eternity to them. They sure would for me.
Handsome bird! And fully floofed, so it would’ve cost him heat and energy to leave his perch. You must have convinced him that you meant him no harm. Lovely colors!
“You must have convinced him that you meant him no harm”
Donna, in situations like this I work pretty hard at doing exactly that but with kestrels I’m usually not successful.
Nice shots Ron. I like the yawning one and the last best. I got a few good shots of a male a couple days back, but it was later in the morning and probably in the 40’s by then. He did leave two perches as I got close, but then went high up, but still close enough for some good shots. I am out walking and not in a truck like you so the cold really depends on the wind. This morning it will be 24 at 8 and 33 at 9 so I will probably leave at 8:30 and hope there is not much wind.
Good luck with the wind, Everett. Wind makes cold so very much more miserable.
This is probably the only time I shall ever see the tongue of a kestrel! And what a cute little tongue it is. I do agree with your theory about the cold and the warming rays of the sun. To me he is giving you the ‘I’m almost warm fella so I hope you have gotten all your pics for today’ look. These are really great photos…the warmth of the sun warms his colors nicely here. 😍 Kudos!
Thank you, Kathy. I probably see their tongue most often when they’re eating.