{"id":4314,"date":"2012-02-05T15:57:57","date_gmt":"2012-02-05T22:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=4314"},"modified":"2025-11-24T08:05:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T14:05:33","slug":"female-american-kestrel-eating-a-vole-graphic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/02\/05\/female-american-kestrel-eating-a-vole-graphic\/","title":{"rendered":"Female American Kestrel Eating A Vole (Graphic)"},"content":{"rendered":"

American Kestrel: There are times when photographs speak for themselves…<\/h2>\n

They tell a story or show behavior and with my bird and\u00a0wildlife photography they also show the natural cycle of life. These images may be gruesome for some to view but they show this falcon’s natural behavior quite well.<\/p>\n

These images were taken three days ago after I found a female American Kestrel<\/span><\/a> that had captured a vole and had begun to ingest it. The wind was blowing from the north and she was having a difficult time eating and keeping her balance.<\/p>\n

I photographed these images using my Nikon D300 with a Nikkor 200-400mm VR lens plus a 1.4x TC attached. These images are not baited, the bird captured the vole herself. I wish it had been a natural perch but honestly I don’t think I would have had such a clear view if she had been perched on a branch or a bush.<\/p>\n

\n
\"American

American Kestrel really tugging at the vole<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female American Kestrel eating a vole<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Adult

Adult female American Kestrel with her prey<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female American Kestrel with a beak full of prey<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female American Kestrel with an appetite<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"American

American Kestrel tugging hard at her prey<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female American Kestrel getting rid of the vole\u2019s intestines<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female American Kestrel bending over her prey<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female American Kestrel stretching out her prey<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female American Kestrel and her fuzzy beak<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female American Kestrel tearing the vole<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female Kestrel putting everything into her meal<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n
\"Lunch

Lunch time! For an American Kestrel<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female American Kestrel balancing in the wind<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female American Kestrel balancing while eating<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female American Kestrel struggling in the wind<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female American Kestrel with a strong grip on her lunch<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female American Kestrel getting a grip<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"American

American Kestrel female downing her lunch<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Female

Female American Kestrel almost done with lunch<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

I photographed this female American Kestrel for just eight minutes and took hundreds of images, the shot above was taken near the end of the series when a vehicle came along and the small falcon picked up her prey and flew away to finish feeding on it. She struggled in the wind, she struggled to tear the meat into pieces and in the end she won the struggle.<\/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

<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are times when photographs speak for themselves, they tell a story or show behavior and with my bird and wildlife photography they also show the natural cycle of life. These images may be gruesome for some to view but they show this falcon’s natural behavior quite well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":164709,"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":[152,511,1022,26],"tags":[4004,155,5145,11978,4286,4199,4078,4279,4040,4228,5481,6276,4892,519,4290,102,1193],"class_list":["post-4314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-kestrel","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-davis-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-american-kestrel","tag-balancing","tag-desert-island","tag-eating","tag-falco-sparverius","tag-falcon","tag-falcons","tag-feeding","tag-feeding-behavior","tag-grip","tag-kestrel","tag-kestrels","tag-nature","tag-vole","tag-wildlife","tag-windy"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-female-eating-mia-mcpherson-0880.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-17A","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9793,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/10\/14\/tiny-but-tough-female-american-kestrel\/","url_meta":{"origin":4314,"position":0},"title":"Tiny But Tough – Female American Kestrel","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I would describe American Kestrels as tiny but tough, they are North America's smallest falcon but I don't think that hinders them 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":"Female American Kestrel with vole at Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-female-vole-mia-mcpherson-9710.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-vole-mia-mcpherson-9710.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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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, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/american-kestrel-adult-female-prey-mia-mcpherson-0308.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/american-kestrel-adult-female-prey-mia-mcpherson-0308.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/american-kestrel-adult-female-prey-mia-mcpherson-0308.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/american-kestrel-adult-female-prey-mia-mcpherson-0308.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50477,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/01\/03\/male-american-kestrel-on-a-sign-post-with-his-prey\/","url_meta":{"origin":4314,"position":4},"title":"Male American Kestrel 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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Don’t Turn!! – Male American Kestrel In Flight With A Vole","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Male American Kestrel in flight with a vole chased off by an appraoching vehicle","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male American Kestrel in flight with a vole, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-flight-vole-mia-mcpherson-7280.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-flight-vole-mia-mcpherson-7280.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-flight-vole-mia-mcpherson-7280.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-flight-vole-mia-mcpherson-7280.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\/4314","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=4314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}