{"id":15429,"date":"2014-07-20T04:48:27","date_gmt":"2014-07-20T10:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=15429"},"modified":"2025-11-22T07:43:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T13:43:54","slug":"american-kestrel-lift-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/07\/20\/american-kestrel-lift-off\/","title":{"rendered":"American Kestrel Lift Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale American Kestrel lift off – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 320, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 328mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

American Kestrels are a challenge to photograph when they are in flight or lifting off because they move so quickly and in low light it can be even harder.<\/p>\n

This male American Kestrel<\/span><\/a> had been perched on a pole at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area when I noticed that it was about to lift off so I was ready when it did.<\/p>\n

Even though the light was low due to fog I was able to obtain enough shutter speed to capture the moment just before his feet left the pole.<\/p>\n

I would have preferred a blue sky background with a few fluffy clouds but photographing in low light conditions does test my skills and abilities and I enjoy that.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my American Kestrel photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n

This image was taken in 2010.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

American Kestrels are a challenge to photograph when they are in flight or lifting off because they move so quickly and in low light it can be even harder. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_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":""},"categories":[152,27,1022,697,26],"tags":[4004,155,4199,4078,4279,6276,4892,4282,156,4062,4094,3792,4095,373,10924],"class_list":["post-15429","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","tag-adult","tag-american-kestrel","tag-falco-sparverius","tag-falcon","tag-falcons","tag-kestrel","tag-kestrels","tag-lift-off","tag-low-light-2","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-take-off","tag-wetlands","tag-winter","tag-wooden-pole"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/american-kestrel-male-flight-mia-mcpherson-5318.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-40R","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29158,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/10\/08\/a-female-american-kestrel-at-farmington-bay\/","url_meta":{"origin":15429,"position":0},"title":"Female 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On A Sign Post With His Prey","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I've found American Kestrels to be \"stickier\" in cold weather and it wasn't much above 20\u00b0F when I photographed him as he consumed the vole bit by bit.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"attempting to lift off with prey, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-kestrel-male-prey-mia-mcpherson-5615.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/american-kestrel-male-prey-mia-mcpherson-5615.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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