{"id":44391,"date":"2017-01-14T05:57:29","date_gmt":"2017-01-14T12:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=44391"},"modified":"2025-02-22T05:34:43","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T11:34:43","slug":"prairie-falcon-with-prey-in-box-elder-county-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/01\/14\/prairie-falcon-with-prey-in-box-elder-county-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Prairie Falcon with Prey in Box Elder County, Utah (Graphic)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AdultAdult Prairie Falcon with prey in Box Elder County – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I drove up to northern Utah yesterday morning because the forecast for that area looked better than the forecast for the area where I live and I’m glad I went. The sun was shining. I had blue skies with a few thin clouds over head and although it was chilly at 22\u00b0F it wasn’t -22 like it was the last time I was up there so it felt comfortable.<\/p>\n

I saw Bald and Golden Eagles, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, American Kestrels, Chukars, Ring-necked Pheasants, Rough-legged Hawks, Common Ravens, Horned Larks, Western Meadowlarks, Black-billed Magpies, some shrikes that I suspect were Northern Shrikes, Canada Geese flying in V-formations, ducks that were too far away to ID and two Prairie Falcons.<\/p>\n

One of the Prairie Falcons was so skittish it flew off when I was at least one football field away from it but the second one was far more cooperative.<\/p>\n

The Prairie Falcon I photographed had prey and that may be why it was less skittish. I have no idea what the prey is but it is larger than a vole and had fur not feathers.<\/p>\n

\"PrairiePrairie Falcon adult with prey in winter – Nikon D500, f9, 1\/640, ISO 250, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

The area behind the Prairie Falcon in my photos is a grassy rangeland that was covered in snow. I was parked on the shoulder of a paved two lane road across from the falcon using my Jeep as a mobile blind.<\/p>\n

\"PerchedPerched Prairie Falcon with prey – Nikon D500, f9, 1\/500, ISO 250, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

The Prairie Falcon seemed content to just watch me as I photographed it. It did not eat the prey it had grasped in it talons. Perhaps it was just enjoying the warmth of the sun. I know that it felt great to me after so many dreary days in a row.<\/p>\n

I noticed that the falcon’s crop bulged a bit and it has some blood on its bill which tells me it had been eating its prey before I came across it.<\/p>\n

\"PrairiePrairie Falcon with prey on a wooden post – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

The falcon perched on this fence post for two minutes while I photographed it before a pickup hauling an empty trailer rumbled by and chased it away. This Prairie Falcon was one of my best birds of the morning yesterday. After the falcon flew off I turned my Jeep towards home with a smile on my face.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that earlier in the morning, I was almost at the auto tour loop at Bear River MBR when I noticed the light was much better further north.<\/p>\n

Because I\u2019m a very flexible and spontaneous woman\u2014not rigid or intractable\u2014I swung my Jeep around and headed for the good light. I wouldn\u2019t have gotten these photos if I hadn\u2019t followed my gut instincts. Yay, instincts!<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

The Prairie Falcon I photographed had prey and that may be why it was less skittish. I have no idea what the prey is but it is larger than a vole and had fur not feathers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140518,"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_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,1148,1095,26],"tags":[4004,2663,1139,4278,4078,4279,898,1130,4104,2617,4106,153,4050,1999,373],"class_list":["post-44391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-prairie-falcons","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-crop","tag-falco-mexicanus","tag-falcon","tag-falcons","tag-fence-post","tag-food","tag-perched","tag-prairie-falcon","tag-prey","tag-raptors","tag-snow","tag-talons","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t