I was thrilled to have this female American Kestrel in my neighborhood and viewfinder after an overnight snow fell two days ago.
Female American Kestrel on a snowy light – Nikon D500, f10, 1/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
While I was driving around looking for birds to photograph I caught just a little bit of movement on top of the snow-covered street light. When I stopped my Jeep the kestrel looked up from her morning meal. although I would have preferred a full body image I liked the snow was in front of this bird and the snow-covered crabapples in the background.
I find American Kestrels in my urban habitat for most of the year. There are plenty of open spaces nearby for these small falcons to hunt and find prey plus lots of trees that they can nest in down by the river. I know that there are woodpeckers in the area that make nesting cavities that the kestrels can take over and nest in. If there were kestrel nesting boxes installed along the river we would have even more of these colorful falcons in my neighborhood.
A few second after I took this photo the female American Kestrel grabbed her breakfast and took it to the top of a power pole to finish eating. I think my Jeep and the city truck that drove past her on the crunchy snow was simply too much traffic for her to cope with.
I adore American Kestrels because they are small, colorful, and feisty. What’s not to like about them?
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my American Kestrel photos plus facts and information about this species.
Wow! What a great, great shot! The contrasting colors, composition and (of course) the detail…just terrific. Thanks Mia.
Such a pretty lady. The snow-covered crabapples do provide a lovely background. I hope she has many more successful hunts this winter.
Beautiful coloring. I like the shot of the Kestrel with dinner at his feet. We have a lot of birds getting ready to roost in the trees by the dog park. They make a lot of noise. And last night, the owl that lives in our backyard was really talking to someone. I’m becoming more aware of the birds that share our space.
I just love Kestrels and you provide some great images of one.
What a beauty – and I am very glad that she had breakfast. Here’s to many more successful hunts.
Very nice image, the snow and this photogenic bird works great.
Wonderful portrait. For some reason the kestrels which spent the winter in our local south Florida wetlands were all males. A few females briefly showed up but never set up foraging territories.