{"id":3705,"date":"2011-11-17T15:29:58","date_gmt":"2011-11-17T21:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=3705"},"modified":"2025-02-22T06:44:38","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T12:44:38","slug":"prairie-falcon-eureka-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/11\/17\/prairie-falcon-eureka-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Prairie Falcon – Eureka Again!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Perched Perched Prairie Falcon – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 800, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or set up<\/span><\/p>\n

I had another post on a different subject almost ready to publish this morning but decided to wait until I came back from going out photographing today. It didn’t look like the light was going to be great but a storm is coming in and it might be 3-4 days before I can get out in the field with my camera. Today was a day of surprises.<\/p>\n

What can I say? I was tickled pink this past week when I was able to create images of Rough-legged Hawks, a bird that had been a nemesis for me but today I just couldn’t believe my luck with this first year Prairie Falcon. When I spotted it and pointed it out, I had to remember to breathe. I could have been knocked over with the proverbial feather. Plus, I had decent light!<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"YoungYoung Prairie Falcon getting ready for lift off – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/800, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or set up<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve seen Prairie Falcons since moving to Utah but they have always been too far away to photograph, until last week when I came across a Prairie Falcon that swooped down towards a Peregrine Falcon on prey. The Peregrine left the prey (a Ruddy Duck) and the Prairie Falcon began to eat it.<\/p>\n

I did take images of that Prairie Falcon and I was close enough to get full frame images. But… the light was horrible! It was cloudy and the light was very low plus there was foliage in front of the bird as it ate the prey on the ground. I took way too many images that just ended up being deleted. I was very disappointed.<\/p>\n

So there I was this morning thinking that a Northern Harrier was coming at me in the distance when I realized that the bird wasn’t a harrier at all, it was a hunting Prairie Falcon!<\/p>\n

\"FirstFirst year Prairie Falcon – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/800, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or set up<\/span><\/p>\n

The Prairie Falcon would hunt for a bit then perch where it could survey its surroundings and then hunt some more.<\/p>\n

It flew down and landed on this rock with the Great Salt Lake behind it and posed for several minutes before it showed some signs that it was going to take off again.<\/p>\n

I wish I had zoomed back a little bit because it did some full wing stretches before these images were taken, Unfortunately I clipped the wing tips. I still was able to get some action shots that I am happy with though.<\/p>\n

Wow, two<\/em> nemesis birds photographed in a week. This juvenile Prairie Falcon was amazing. I’ll be grinning (and dancing) about this for quite awhile!<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Wow, two nemesis birds photographed in a week, this Prairie Falcon was amazing. I’ll be grinning (and dancing) about this for quite awhile!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140531,"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":[511,27,1022,1095,26],"tags":[4278,4078,4279,1098,4005,4067,4071,4104,2617,4277,4921],"class_list":["post-3705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-prairie-falcons","category-utah","tag-falco-mexicanus","tag-falcon","tag-falcons","tag-first-year","tag-great-salt-lake","tag-immature","tag-juvenile","tag-perched","tag-prairie-falcon","tag-prairie-falcons","tag-rock"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/prairie-falcon-1st-year-mia-mcpherson-9922.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-XL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3842,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/12\/16\/friday-photos-prairie-falcon\/","url_meta":{"origin":3705,"position":0},"title":"Friday Photos ~ Prairie Falcon","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Many of my regular readers probably know that I have been having a great time the past month photographing Rough-legged Hawks and Prairie Falcons so I selected an image of a Prairie Falcon to post for my Friday Photos today.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Prairie Falcon in early morning light, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/prairie-falcon-mia-mcpherson-5355.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/prairie-falcon-mia-mcpherson-5355.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/prairie-falcon-mia-mcpherson-5355.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4599,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/03\/06\/prairie-falcon-the-fun-keeps-going\/","url_meta":{"origin":3705,"position":1},"title":"Prairie Falcon ~ The Fun Keeps Going","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I have had an amazing time photographing Prairie Falcons (Falco mexicanus) since last fall. Since the ducks are no longer near the causeway to Antelope Island I have had a more difficult time locating them because they are now searching for their normal winter diet of Western Meadowlarks and Horned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Prairie Falcon lift off #1, Antelope Island State Park in Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/prairie-falcon-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-6716.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/prairie-falcon-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-6716.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/prairie-falcon-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-6716.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/prairie-falcon-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-6716.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43364,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/12\/06\/immature-prairie-falcon-at-sunrise-next-to-the-great-salt-lake\/","url_meta":{"origin":3705,"position":2},"title":"Immature Prairie Falcon At Sunrise Next To The Great Salt Lake","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The bird that started my day was an immature Prairie Falcon at sunrise next to the Great Salt Lake and as the sun started to rise the falcon seemed to glow.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Prairie Falcon at sunrise next to the Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/prairie-falcon-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-4550.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/prairie-falcon-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-4550.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/prairie-falcon-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-4550.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/prairie-falcon-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-4550.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14926,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/05\/10\/a-first-year-prairie-falcon\/","url_meta":{"origin":3705,"position":3},"title":"First year Prairie Falcon","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In the fall of 2011 I enjoyed being able to photograph this first year Prairie Falcon several times close to the Great Salt Lake in Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Early morning Prairie Falcon, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/prairie-falcon-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-9910.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/prairie-falcon-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-9910.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/prairie-falcon-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-9910.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3907,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/12\/28\/more-prairie-falcon-fun-this-time-with-prey\/","url_meta":{"origin":3705,"position":4},"title":"More Prairie Falcon Fun ~ This time with prey","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week while out photographing I spotted a Prairie Falcon in the midst of a tussle with two Common Ravens in mid air. At times it seemed that the falcon was chasing the ravens and then the tables would turn and it appeared that the ravens were diving at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Full frame flight image of a Prairie Falcon, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/prairie-falcon-flight-mia-mcpherson-0044.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/prairie-falcon-flight-mia-mcpherson-0044.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/prairie-falcon-flight-mia-mcpherson-0044.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/prairie-falcon-flight-mia-mcpherson-0044.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6160,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/09\/22\/low-light-juvenile-prairie-falcon\/","url_meta":{"origin":3705,"position":5},"title":"Low Light Juvenile Prairie Falcon","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"One foggy morning last December I spotted this juvenile Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) perched on a frost-covered rock on the causeway to Antelope Island SP with the Great Salt Lake in the background.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Prairie Falcon on a cold Utah morning next to the causeway, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/prairie-falcon-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-7323.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/prairie-falcon-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-7323.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/prairie-falcon-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-7323.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/prairie-falcon-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-7323.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}