In order to escape some severe wind this male American Kestrel chose to perch very low to the ground at the base of a large cottonwood tree. He was mostly in deep shade but occasionally the effect of the wind on the tree would put some dappled light on him.
Anyone who follows my blog knows that I observe and photograph kestrels often but I’ve never before seen one with snake prey. In my experience it’s always been voles, mice, small birds or (less often) insects. When we first noticed this bird it already had the snake on this bush perch.
I’ve never before posted this image because of the “imperfection” of the peeling beak tip of this male American Kestrel. Bird beaks are largely composed of the protein keratin and like our fingernails are constantly growing. This can apparently cause flaking or peeling of the beak but I don’t understand why and so far internet research hasn’t provided the answer.
Sometimes a single bird saves the day for the bird photographer. That was exactly the case last Wednesday.
Just a simple shot of a handsome little male American Kestrel this morning.
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).
This male American Kestrel preened for me for some time as he enjoyed the security of his favorite perch. He really worked over those tail feathers especially.
This image was taken several years ago in early October at Farmington Bay. I’ve always liked the color combinations in the shot. The background is the deeply shaded Wasatch Mountains. The reds are caused by the fall colors of scrub oak and other vegetation. 1/125, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in It was overcast, with clearing to the west (behind me) so it was bright back there. This kind of lighting often produces a horizontal catch light in the eye, rather than the more typical pinpoint catch light. I often like that effect, as I do here. I’ve seen noticeably fewer kestrels this winter and early spring than I have for many years. I sure hope there’s nothing ominous going on… Ron
Many extinct and ancient relatives of modern birds had alulae, as do flies (insects of order diptera). I find it fascinating that evolutionary selection pressure has produced this structure in such diverse and relatively unrelated groups as birds and some flying insects. And that man has (once again) copied nature to solve a modern problem.
I found this Male American Kestrel perched about a foot off the ground at the base of a large tree as it tried to escape the effects of a howling wind. It was mostly in deep shade but because the wind kept moving all the overhead branches, dappled light would occasionally fall on the bird. I thought the lighting and setting made for a few interesting images. I’ve posted one other shot of this bird in a different pose in the past. 1/500, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in My intent this morning was to post a single image of this bird but looking at the unprocessed versions I couldn’t make up my mind which of these two shots to use. So I processed them both but still couldn’t make a choice so I’m posting each of them. They’re processed minimally. I sharpening the bird and part of the perch in each photo but made no further adjustments, including exposure, saturation or contrast. 1/640, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in I took this image only two clicks and seconds later than the previous shot but the slight change in body angle and head turn made subtle yet significant differences in light and richness of color. I adjusted my f/stop from 8 to 7.1 to give myself a little more shutter speed since I didn’t need quite as much depth of field to get the tail relatively sharp with it at this…
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…
On January 4th I published a blog post regarding this image that had been stolen from my Feathered Photography galleries. My copyright had been removed and replaced with the logo of someone else and the image was posted on Facebook under the name of Alessandro Pinna (I’m appalled at the poor quality of this version due to overcompression…) As I reported before, I filed a DMCA takedown notice with Facebook and the image was removed the next day. But many other images on that FB account had been stolen and the comment section was brimming with vitriol and extreme anger. Justifiably so. It turns out that the real Alessandro Pinna has apparently been the victim of identity theft on FB and is innocent in this entire matter. Yesterday, he posted this police report on his website. I then posted the link to the police report on a FB group I belong to that is dedicated to dealing with image theft. At that time I was yet unsure about what was really going on. Then today, I received the following email from the real Alessandro Pinna (quoted with permission). He had seen both my blog post and the fact that I had posted the police report to the FB group. Dear Ron, I am writing to you because I just found out you guys are mentioning my name and my website on your blog. I just wanted to confirm it’s my name this guy has stolen and so I had to start the process to defend myself and clear…
Image thievery is a huge issue for me and virtually all other serious photographers who have websites or blogs. I just don’t understand why some folks think they have the right to steal the images of others. Social media sites like Facebook, Pinterest and tumblr are a big part of the problem (though it certainly exists elsewhere on the web). Each of these sites has policies in their terms of service that prohibit members from infringing on the intellectual property rights of others and allows them to disable the accounts of those who abuse the policy. For example, from the terms of service of Facebook: “If you repeatedly infringe other people’s intellectual property rights, we will disable your account when appropriate.” Social media sites also have online forms that allow legitimate copyright holders to file Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) take-down notices with those respective sites. Sadly, I’m coming to know these procedures well and some of those accounts have been disabled permanently because of repeated abuse. Below is just one example of how flagrant and egregious these violations can be. This image of a male American Kestrel is in my Feathered Photography image galleries (link to the photo). Every page and photo in those galleries contains this statement: “All images are the property of Ron Dudley and are protected under international copyright laws“. But last week I was alerted by someone who recognized my image on the Facebook page of someone else. Notice that my copyright has been removed and replaced by the logo of Alessandro Pinna. …
For the New Year I’ve decided to resurrect my “Just A Shot That I Like” feature. For some reason I stopped using it and I’m not really sure why. There are times when I want to post just a single image and this feature seems ideal for those situations. 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Two days ago I found this handsome male American Kestrel posing on rabbitbrush just as the sun was coming up over the mountains. I like the warm, early morning light and the pose. Best wishes and a happy and prosperous New Year to you all! Ron
Christmas Day is one of our favorite times to photograph birds. My daughter lives in Florida so I normally don’t get to spend time with family and for me bird photography is the next-best thing. Besides, we usually have splendid isolation when we’re “out there” while everyone else is at home celebrating the holiday in a more traditional way. A win/win situation for all. This post is dedicated to “Christmas Birds” – photos I’ve taken on Christmas Day in recent years. I often think of these birds as extra-special Christmas presents. 1/1600, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, called in or set up This beautiful male American Kestrel is perched on a short but thick wooden pole at Farmington Bay. The pole has been a favorite perch for kestrels and eagles for years but now an ugly bat box has been placed near the top of the pole, ruining it for photographic purposes. I’m all for bats but I sure wish the box had been placed a few inches lower on the pole. 1/400, f/7.1, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, called in or set up Two years ago, this Common Merganser hung around a Farmington Bay pond for much of the winter. I seldom saw it actively fishing. Instead, it would just wait around until one of the many Pied-billed Grebes caught a fish and then steal it away from them – very entertaining to watch. 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4,…
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
