{"id":42008,"date":"2016-09-18T04:07:22","date_gmt":"2016-09-18T10:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=42008"},"modified":"2025-02-22T08:50:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T14:50:30","slug":"centennial-valley-prairie-falcon-and-a-short-eared-owl-barbed-wire-casualty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/09\/18\/centennial-valley-prairie-falcon-and-a-short-eared-owl-barbed-wire-casualty\/","title":{"rendered":"Centennial Valley Prairie Falcon and a Short-eared Owl Barbed Wire Casualty"},"content":{"rendered":"

I spent some time in the Centennial Valley of Montana yesterday and the best bird I spotted was this adult Prairie Falcon photographed on a cattle chute with a white cloud in the background.<\/p>\n

\"PrairiePrairie Falcon with a white cloud in the background – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 320, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

By the way, if you look under the falcon’s tail you can see the falcon got photo bombed by two tiny midges. I was surprised that the falcon hung around for as long as it did and although some people might not like the white cloud in the background I think it highlights the falcon’s colors beautifully.<\/p>\n

\"DefecatingDefecating Prairie Falcon – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 320, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

And anyone who doesn’t like it… well the falcon shows what it thinks of that. \ud83d\ude09\ud83d\ude01<\/p>\n

I also like the texture of its feathers and of the corner post of the cattle chute it perched on.<\/p>\n

\"DeceasedDeceased juvenile Short-eared Owl on barbed wire – Nikon D810, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 18-200mm at 200mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

But I do have some bad news to report from Clark County, Idaho where barbed wire claimed another casualty, a deceased juvenile Short-eared Owl that must have gotten caught in the fence a few days ago. Seeing this young owl hung on the fence breaks my heart. I makes me sick. I’m sorry this owl couldn’t be saved. So damned sorry.<\/p>\n

Seeing and photographing the Prairie Falcon took a bit of the sting out.<\/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":"

I spent some time in the Centennial Valley of Montana yesterday and the best bird I spotted was this adult Prairie Falcon photographed on a cattle chute with a white cloud in the background.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140568,"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":[1513,27,223,2578,2244,12,1095,130],"tags":[4004,4114,1894,4430,3840,2663,5431,5135,4278,4078,4279,4071,294,4104,3917,4394,2617,3971,2315,8917],"class_list":["post-42008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beaverhead-county-montana","category-avian","category-centennial-valley","category-clark-county","category-idaho","category-montana","category-prairie-falcons","category-short-eared-owls","tag-adult","tag-asio-flammeus","tag-barb-wire","tag-barbed-wire","tag-barbed-wire-dangers","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-casualty","tag-defecating","tag-falco-mexicanus","tag-falcon","tag-falcons","tag-juvenile","tag-owls","tag-perched","tag-pooping","tag-post","tag-prairie-falcon","tag-short-eared-owl","tag-summer-3","tag-wooden-post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/prairie-falcon-adult-white-cloud-mia-mcpherson-3074.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-aVy","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":47632,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/07\/09\/short-eared-owl-surveying-the-centennial-valley\/","url_meta":{"origin":42008,"position":0},"title":"Short-eared Owl Surveying the Centennial Valley of Montana","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Short-eared Owl was perched on the post and slowly turned its head to look around as if it was surveying the beauty of the valley it had made its home in.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Centennial Valley Short-eared Owl, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/short-eared-owl-centennial-valley-mia-mcpherson-4628.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/short-eared-owl-centennial-valley-mia-mcpherson-4628.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/short-eared-owl-centennial-valley-mia-mcpherson-4628.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/short-eared-owl-centennial-valley-mia-mcpherson-4628.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15490,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/07\/28\/posts-from-the-past-raptors\/","url_meta":{"origin":42008,"position":1},"title":"Posts from the Past – Raptors","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I am focusing on older posts that have raptors in them starting with Prairie Falcons then Swainson's Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks and Bald Eagles","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":"Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk with wings spread, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4860.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4860.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4860.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/red-tailed-hawk-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-4860.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16472,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/11\/01\/prairie-merlin\/","url_meta":{"origin":42008,"position":2},"title":"Prairie Merlin","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I saw a fleeting glimpse of a bird a few days ago that I suspect was a Merlin that migrated to winter here in Utah and it inspired me to post a few Merlin images today.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Merlin and prey, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-perched-prey-mia-mcpherson-8255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-perched-prey-mia-mcpherson-8255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-perched-prey-mia-mcpherson-8255.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-perched-prey-mia-mcpherson-8255.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42843,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/10\/26\/photographing-short-eared-owls\/","url_meta":{"origin":42008,"position":3},"title":"Photographing Short-eared Owls – From Chicks to Adults","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This year was exceptional for photographing Short-eared Owls in Utah, Idaho and Montana and being able to see them in all the stages of their growth.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fledgling Short-eared Owl lifting its wings, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/short-eared-owl-chick-stretch-mia-mcpherson-7142.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/short-eared-owl-chick-stretch-mia-mcpherson-7142.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/short-eared-owl-chick-stretch-mia-mcpherson-7142.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/short-eared-owl-chick-stretch-mia-mcpherson-7142.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6423,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/10\/25\/winters-first-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":42008,"position":4},"title":"Winter’s First Snow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As I write this the first snow of winter is falling outside my living room window. For the past week I have seen the snow on the mountain tops and I had been looking forward to seeing the snow covering the Salt Lake Valley.","rel":"","context":"In "American Barn Owls"","block_context":{"text":"American Barn Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barn-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Antelope Island after a fresh snow, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6399.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6399.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6399.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6399.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49472,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/11\/18\/side-by-side-prairie-and-peregrine-falcon-comparison\/","url_meta":{"origin":42008,"position":5},"title":"Side By Side Prairie and Peregrine Falcon Comparison","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"There are other differences in plumage between Prairie and Peregrine Falcons that show in my photos but by using just their heads it is possible to make a quick ID in the field.","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 and Peregrine Falcon Comparison, Prairie - Box Elder County, Utah, Peregrine - Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/peregrine-falcon-prairie-falcon-snow-mia-mcpherson-8165.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/peregrine-falcon-prairie-falcon-snow-mia-mcpherson-8165.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/peregrine-falcon-prairie-falcon-snow-mia-mcpherson-8165.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/peregrine-falcon-prairie-falcon-snow-mia-mcpherson-8165.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\/42008","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=42008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}