Tag: grasshopper

Montana Prairie Falcons And Hordes of Grasshoppers

I learned something last week in Montana’s Centennial Valley – Prairie Falcons eat insects.

In the past I’ve only seen them eat birds and small mammals and cursory research had backed up that observation but if you dig a little deeper in your research (Birds of North America Online, for example) you’ll find mention of lizards and insects being included in their diet. My friend (master falconer) Mark Runnels says that “Prairie Falcons will eat anything. In really bad years I have even heard of them feeding on carrion. You’ll never see a Peregrine do that!”

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Lark Sparrow With Prey

Last week on Antelope Island this Lark Sparrow popped up onto a sagebrush very close to me with a large, juicy grasshopper. The bird seemed to be deliberately conspicuous about its prize and I briefly wondered why.

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Loggerhead Shrike Attempting To Impale A Grasshopper

Shrikes are well-known for impaling their prey on sharp projections like thorns or barbed wire as a means of food storage – they’re called “butcher birds” for good reason.  I suspect the behavior to do so is innate but to become skilled at it takes practice. This past summer I found this Loggerhead Shrike on a fence on the Montana farm where I grew up.  It had already captured the grasshopper when I arrived on the scene. First, my standard disclaimer for behavioral sequences.  This bird was strongly sidelit so I seldom got a catch light and the light was harsh.  To compensate, I did more processing with these images than I normally do because my intent is to show the behavior as well as possible, even though image quality suffered from the processing.   Almost immediately I could see that the shrike was going to attempt to impale the grasshopper on the barb just below and in front of the beak of the bird.     Impaling prey apparently isn’t an easy task.     From all the contortions the bird went through…     I’d assume that part of the problem was the awkward angle the shrike was at…     to get proper leverage to complete the task.     At one point the bird nearly fell off the fence.     After a few moments the shrike gave up, turned its back on me with the grasshopper between its legs (and a gob of grasshopper on its bill) and seemed to contemplate what…

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Swainson’s Hawk Regurgitating Pellets

Western Montana has been awash in Swainson’s Hawks this summer.  From the Canadian border (Glacier County) to the southern border with Idaho (Beaverhead County) I found them in significantly larger numbers than I have seen in previous summers.  I hope this very unscientific observation is accurate and that it bodes them well as a species because their numbers have been declining to the point where they are listed as a Species of Special Concern in several western states.    1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4  I found this handsome juvenile this past week along a county road in Beaverhead County.  At first it was very relaxed and assumed this clenched fist pose that is so typical of many buteo species when they’re at ease and resting.      1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 But soon it began to arch its neck and I recognized that it was about to attempt to expel a pellet.  I had already taken my tc off in anticipation of take-off so I decided to leave it off because so often in the past I’ve missed the falling pellet as it dropped out of frame at the bottom.      1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Then, with the nictitating membrane pulled over the eye, the bird began to retch. These few images showing pellet ejection may give the viewer the impression that it all happened very quickly.  It didn’t.  From beginning to end the whole process took over four minutes.  During that time there were alternating periods of retching and resting and it didn’t look to be a…

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