{"id":77695,"date":"2021-01-13T06:44:09","date_gmt":"2021-01-13T13:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=77695"},"modified":"2024-12-20T06:11:23","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T12:11:23","slug":"male-american-kestrel-perched-on-a-sign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/01\/13\/male-american-kestrel-perched-on-a-sign\/","title":{"rendered":"Male American Kestrel Perched On A Sign"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of my trip to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> on January 6th the last bird I photographed was an adult male American Kestrel. When I first saw him he was on a fence post. He lifted off from there and landed on a vault toilet exhaust pipe. I didn’t want to photograph the male kestrel on the toilet pipe so I pulled into the parking area to get ready to head home and as I started to turn off my Jeep he flew and landed on a nearby interpretive sign.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale American Kestrel perched on an interpretive sign \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I decided to take a few images of the brightly colored kestrel on the sign. I appreciated the great view of the small falcon’s face and eye and the view of his colorful back side in this photo. I was delighted to be able to take a nice series of images of the male falcon before he flew off to hunt for prey in a field to the north.<\/p>\n

American Kestrels aren’t symbols of our country but with their red, white, and blue plumage they certainly could be. They are North America’s smallest falcon. Their small size is deceptive though because these falcons are fierce and they enchant me.<\/p>\n

One of the reasons I wanted to photograph birds originally was so that I would have reference photos of them for paintings. American Kestrels were one of the avian subjects that I wanted to paint the most. I had no idea that I would become so obsessed with bird photography that it would surpass my desire to paint them. My paints dried up in their tubes and my brushes haven’t been out of their wooden box in decades because I prefer photographing birds to painting them.<\/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":"

At the end of my trip to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on January 6th the last bird I photographed was an adult male American Kestrel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":137982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[152,124,27,1148,26],"tags":[4004,155,4199,4078,4279,10858,6276,4892,4062,4104,4681,4018,373],"class_list":["post-77695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-kestrel","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-american-kestrel","tag-falco-sparverius","tag-falcon","tag-falcons","tag-interpretive-sign","tag-kestrel","tag-kestrels","tag-male","tag-perched","tag-sign","tag-sky","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/american-kestrel-adult-male-sign-mia-mcpherson-4929.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-kd9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62478,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/01\/07\/male-american-kestrels-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":77695,"position":0},"title":"Male American Kestrels At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"While this male American Kestrel struggled to maintain his grip on the thin branches of the Tamarisk I struggled to keep him in my viewfinder.","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 being buffeted by a strong breeze, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/american-kestrel-male-tamarisk-mia-mcpherson-0603.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/american-kestrel-male-tamarisk-mia-mcpherson-0603.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/american-kestrel-male-tamarisk-mia-mcpherson-0603.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/american-kestrel-male-tamarisk-mia-mcpherson-0603.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":98505,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/12\/28\/stretching-male-american-kestrel-in-a-russian-olive\/","url_meta":{"origin":77695,"position":1},"title":"Stretching Male American Kestrel In A Russian Olive","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"On the 3rd of December I spotted a small, colorful shape from a distance in a Russian Olive tree and knew immediately that I had found a male American Kestrel.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Stretching male American Kestrel in a Russian Olive, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/american-kestrel-adult-male-olive-tree-mia-mcpherson-7221.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/american-kestrel-adult-male-olive-tree-mia-mcpherson-7221.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/american-kestrel-adult-male-olive-tree-mia-mcpherson-7221.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/american-kestrel-adult-male-olive-tree-mia-mcpherson-7221.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4071,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/01\/20\/friday-photos-feathers-fur\/","url_meta":{"origin":77695,"position":2},"title":"Friday Photos ~ Feathers and Fur","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"For today's Friday Photos I am mixing it up a bit and posting images of Pronghorns, a Black-crowned Night Heron, a Long-tailed Weasel and an American Kestrel. Please enjoy!","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Long-tailed Weasel in summer coat, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/long-tailed-weasel-mia-mcpherson-5703.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/long-tailed-weasel-mia-mcpherson-5703.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/long-tailed-weasel-mia-mcpherson-5703.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/long-tailed-weasel-mia-mcpherson-5703.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":77695,"position":3},"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":109015,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/31\/my-2022-year-in-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":77695,"position":4},"title":"My 2022 Year In Review","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"On this last day of the year it is time for my annual 2022 Year in Review post. In some ways 2022 has been great for me and in others not so good.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Horned Grebe plus weird reflection, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/horned-grebe-weird-reflection-mia-mcpherson-6170.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/horned-grebe-weird-reflection-mia-mcpherson-6170.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/horned-grebe-weird-reflection-mia-mcpherson-6170.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/horned-grebe-weird-reflection-mia-mcpherson-6170.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":77695,"position":5},"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":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77695","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=77695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}