{"id":11955,"date":"2013-12-16T04:45:38","date_gmt":"2013-12-16T10:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=11955"},"modified":"2025-11-22T05:39:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T11:39:00","slug":"fire-in-the-sky-fog-and-a-female-american-kestrel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/12\/16\/fire-in-the-sky-fog-and-a-female-american-kestrel\/","title":{"rendered":"Fire In The Sky, Fog And A Female American Kestrel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FireFire Rainbow – Circumhorizontal arc or a Fog Bow? <\/span><\/p>\n

I love to be at my shooting location before the sun rises and yesterday, as normal, I was there before the sun peeked over the Wasatch Mountain Range. Even though there was heavy fog in the valley there was blue sky straight above me.<\/p>\n

I happened to look up towards where I thought the sun would rise over the mountains and saw what looks to be a fire in the sky.<\/p>\n

This might be what is called a “Fire Rainbow” (Circumhorizontal arc) or some phenomena caused by me looking up through the fog but whatever it was it was beautiful.<\/p>\n

\"FarmingtonFarmington Bay WMA in a heavy fog<\/span><\/p>\n

This is what it looked like for quite some time yesterday morning at Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area, there was plenty of thick, heavy fog.<\/p>\n

By the time I took this image the sun had risen over the Wasatch Mountains and I wasn’t seeing anymore “Fire in the Sky”. Just the fog.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale American Kestrel on a rusty perch – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

The fog generally dissipates slowly after the sun rises and burns it off and fortunately it did yesterday so\u00a0I could photograph this little female American Kestrel (here<\/a><\/span>) who is the same\u00a0kestrel I photographed a few days ago in low light, foggy conditions as the snow fell and she dined on an American Pipit.<\/p>\n

It was delightful to photograph the female kestrel in much better light\u00a0but once again there was an air boat revving its engine not too far away. Boy they are loud.<\/p>\n

The duck hunters are almost as persistent about being out early in the morning to scoot out into the marshes as I am to be on location bright and early. Okay, maybe it is a tie.<\/p>\n

The American Kestrel had just finished devouring a small bird of some sort, I really couldn’t tell what it was because there were only a few small feathers left by the time I spotted the tiny falcon and pointed her out.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleAmerican Kestrel lifting off\u00a0– Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

The female American Kestrel<\/span><\/a> sure was beautiful in the soft morning light with hoar frost covered vegetation in the background.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I had sparrows, fog, a few distant Bald eagles, frost, snow-covered mountains, the marsh, this American Kestrel, and a fire in the sky.<\/p>\n

Yeah, I love what I do.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my American Kestrel photos plus facts and information about this species. Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my landscape photos of Farmington Bay WMA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The American Kestrel had just finished devouring a small bird of some sort, I really couldn’t tell what it was because there were only a few small feathers left by the time I spotted the tiny falcon and when we stopped to photographer her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":164444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[152,27,1022,697,26,7641],"tags":[4004,155,970,2405,4199,4078,4279,4620,4070,2404,6276,4892,4421,4282,4094,16982,4104,1164,7640,4095],"class_list":["post-11955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-kestrel","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","category-weather-phenomena","tag-adult","tag-american-kestrel","tag-autumn","tag-circumhorizontal-arc","tag-falco-sparverius","tag-falcon","tag-falcons","tag-fall","tag-female","tag-fire-rainbow","tag-kestrel","tag-kestrels","tag-lake-fog","tag-lift-off","tag-marsh","tag-optical-phenomenon","tag-perched","tag-wasatch-mountain-range","tag-weather-phenomena","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-female-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-9718.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-36P","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":108991,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/25\/christmas-day-american-kestrel\/","url_meta":{"origin":11955,"position":0},"title":"Christmas Day American Kestrel","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this Christmas Day American Kestrel in 2020 at Farmington Bay WMA. That Christmas Day was bright and sunny, today isn't going to be at all.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Christmas Day American Kestrel, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Mountain Rage.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-perched-mia-mcpherson-8073.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-perched-mia-mcpherson-8073.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-perched-mia-mcpherson-8073.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62120,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/12\/17\/female-american-kestrel-on-a-crabapple-tree-near-the-jordan-river\/","url_meta":{"origin":11955,"position":2},"title":"Female American Kestrel On A Crabapple Tree Near The Jordan River","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I was delighted when I spotted this female American Kestrel perched high on a crabapple tree next to a road near the Jordan River and pleased that she stuck around for a few photos.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female American Kestrel perched in a crabapple tree, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-female-crabapple-winter-mia-mcpherson-6129.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-female-crabapple-winter-mia-mcpherson-6129.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-female-crabapple-winter-mia-mcpherson-6129.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-female-crabapple-winter-mia-mcpherson-6129.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108592,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/10\/female-american-kestrel-urban-birds\/","url_meta":{"origin":11955,"position":3},"title":"Female American Kestrel – Urban Birds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I was thrilled to have this female American Kestrel in my neighborhood and viewfinder after an overnight snow fell two days ago.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female American Kestrel on a snowy light, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-adult-female-light-snow-mia-mcpherson-5862.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-adult-female-light-snow-mia-mcpherson-5862.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-adult-female-light-snow-mia-mcpherson-5862.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-adult-female-light-snow-mia-mcpherson-5862.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109584,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/13\/female-american-kestrel-on-a-tree-top\/","url_meta":{"origin":11955,"position":4},"title":"Female American Kestrel On A Tree Top","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent a few moments photographing a gorgeous female American Kestrel on a tree top yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Saucy looking female American Kestrel, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-kestrel-female-tree-top-mia-mcpherson-8016.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-kestrel-female-tree-top-mia-mcpherson-8016.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-kestrel-female-tree-top-mia-mcpherson-8016.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-kestrel-female-tree-top-mia-mcpherson-8016.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110181,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/02\/12\/female-american-kestrel-get-off-my-lawn-look\/","url_meta":{"origin":11955,"position":5},"title":"Female American Kestrel Get Off My Lawn Look","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"When I viewed this American Kestrel photo my first thought was if this isn't a \"get off my lawn look\" then I have never seen a get off my lawn look from anyone.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Kestrel Get Off My Lawn look, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-kestrel-female-get-off-my-lawn-look-mia-mcpherson-2637.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-kestrel-female-get-off-my-lawn-look-mia-mcpherson-2637.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-kestrel-female-get-off-my-lawn-look-mia-mcpherson-2637.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-kestrel-female-get-off-my-lawn-look-mia-mcpherson-2637.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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