{"id":44862,"date":"2017-02-09T06:30:59","date_gmt":"2017-02-09T13:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=44862"},"modified":"2025-11-22T12:33:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T18:33:24","slug":"male-american-kestrel-resting-and-preening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/02\/09\/male-american-kestrel-resting-and-preening\/","title":{"rendered":"Male American Kestrel Resting and Preening – One Good Bird Can Make the Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale American Kestrel resting – Nikon D500, f5.6, 1\/1000, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I have mentioned before how one good bird can make a day and yesterday that bird was a male American Kestrel resting and preening at Farmington Bay WMA.<\/p>\n

It was slow for birds yesterday morning at Farmington. I only saw a few Bald Eagles and those were from a distance, Farmington isn’t anything like it used to be for eagles in February, that much is for sure.<\/p>\n

But having a cooperative American Kestrel made it worth going out into the field. Finding and sharing this little falcon made the trip to Farmington Bay productive.<\/p>\n

Kestrels here are more cooperative when it is colder because they are sticky and while it was warm for winter here yesterday this one was sticky, relaxed and very cooperative.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican Kestrel male standing on one foot – Nikon D500, f5.6, 1\/1000, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

He might have been sticky because he was resting or he might have been sticky because he wanted to preen the blood off of his feathers and feet from his most recent meal.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale American Kestrel perched on a rock at Farmington Bay – Nikon D500, f5.6, 1\/1000, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever the reason was that made him so cooperative I am glad it did. I haven’t had as many opportunities with American Kestrels as I would like this winter. I love these colorful little falcons.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican Kestrel male with a bloody foot – Nikon D500, f5.6, 1\/1250, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in the early days of my photography I remember wanting to get high quality images of American Kestrels because I wanted to use them for references to paint from.<\/p>\n

I put aside my brushes and paints some time ago though because my passion for photography overcame my desire to paint and now I love getting images of these small falcons whenever I can.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican Kestrel male resting on a rock – Nikon D500, f5.6, 1\/1250, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

This male preened and shook his feathers up while I photographed him and scratched his head with his talons a few times too.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale American Kestrel all puffed up – Nikon D500, f5.6, 1\/1250, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Any day I can take images of American Kestrels is a good day. Being out in the field makes it a good day too because for a while all<\/em> I focus on is the birds.<\/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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have mentioned before how one good bird can make a day and yesterday that bird was a male American Kestrel resting and preening at Farmington Bay WMA. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":164552,"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":[4004,155,5651,2663,4199,4078,4279,6276,4892,4062,4094,5650,4019,5652,4156,4921,4095,373],"class_list":["post-44862","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-bill-open","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-falco-sparverius","tag-falcon","tag-falcons","tag-kestrel","tag-kestrels","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-on-one-leg","tag-preening-2","tag-puffed-up","tag-resting","tag-rock","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-male-resting-mia-mcpherson-4803.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-bFA","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":109584,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/13\/female-american-kestrel-on-a-tree-top\/","url_meta":{"origin":44862,"position":0},"title":"Female American Kestrel On A Tree Top","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent a few moments photographing a gorgeous female American Kestrel on a tree top yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Saucy looking female American Kestrel, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-kestrel-female-tree-top-mia-mcpherson-8016.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-kestrel-female-tree-top-mia-mcpherson-8016.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-kestrel-female-tree-top-mia-mcpherson-8016.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-kestrel-female-tree-top-mia-mcpherson-8016.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108991,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/25\/christmas-day-american-kestrel\/","url_meta":{"origin":44862,"position":1},"title":"Christmas Day American Kestrel","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this Christmas Day American Kestrel in 2020 at Farmington Bay WMA. That Christmas Day was bright and sunny, today isn't going to be 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":"Christmas Day American Kestrel, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.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-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":75314,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/11\/13\/merlin-and-american-kestrels-two-falcon-species-in-a-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":44862,"position":2},"title":"Merlin And American Kestrels – Two Falcon Species In A Day","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Any time I can see and photograph two falcon species in a single day is a great day and yesterday I photographed a Prairie Merlin and several American Kestrels.","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 Prairie Merlin perched in a tree, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-female-adult-perched-mia-mcpherson-2200.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-female-adult-perched-mia-mcpherson-2200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-female-adult-perched-mia-mcpherson-2200.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-female-adult-perched-mia-mcpherson-2200.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3957,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/01\/06\/a-preening-american-kestrel-friday-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":44862,"position":3},"title":"Preening American Kestrel ~ Friday Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"American Kestrels hold a special interest for me, they are North America's smallest falcon but what they lack in size they make up for in attitude. These falcons can be fiesty.","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 resting on rabbitbrush, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-male-mia-mcpherson-4151.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-male-mia-mcpherson-4151.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-male-mia-mcpherson-4151.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\/2023\/02\/american-kestrel-female-get-off-my-lawn-look-mia-mcpherson-2637.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-kestrel-female-get-off-my-lawn-look-mia-mcpherson-2637.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-kestrel-female-get-off-my-lawn-look-mia-mcpherson-2637.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-kestrel-female-get-off-my-lawn-look-mia-mcpherson-2637.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49749,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/12\/10\/female-and-male-american-kestrel-comparison\/","url_meta":{"origin":44862,"position":5},"title":"Female and Male American Kestrel Comparison","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I've seen people struggle with seeing the differences between male and female American Kestrels and I hope this simple comparison will help.","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 and Male American Kestrel Comparison, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/american-kestrel-female-male-mia-mcpherson-2801-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/american-kestrel-female-male-mia-mcpherson-2801-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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