American Kestrel

Another interesting facet of my recent trip to Utah was the large number of American Kestrels that I observed. They were everywhere, in the trees, on the marsh, on wires along the road, and along streets.  In fact, it reminded me somewhat of when we drive around here in Massachusetts and see Red-tailed Hawks sitting in trees along the road.  The numbers of red-tailed hawks that we see are much less in numbers, then the amount of kestrels that I saw in Utah, in a same area, probably due to the difference in size of the birds and the territory they cover.
In fact, in Massachusetts, the American Kestrel is declining markedly and they are one of the birds of concern from the Massachusetts Audubon Society.  Here is a link to the information that the Mass Audubon has online http://www.massaudubon.org/Birds_and_Birding/birdstowatch/kestrels/index.php
The American Kestrel is a beautiful bird with the male showing a reddish brown back and blue gray upper wing colors. The females wings are reddish brown. Both the male and female have pairs of black vertical slashes on the side of their pale face. 





In the air, they will hover with tails spread as they look for prey on the ground..




You can help increase the numbers of American Kestrels by building and hanging a nesting box for them.  http://www.birds.cornell.edu/nestinginfo/downloads/Am%20Kestrel%20Screech-Owl%20N%20Saw-whet%20Owl.pdf.

More “Gray Ghost”, the Male Northern Harrier

A short while ago, I had written a blog about "Gray Ghost" (http://photobee1.blogspot.com/2012/02/gray-ghost.html) and how it was the first time that I was able to photograph it.  On my photographic trip to Utah, I even got a better chance to photograph the male Northern Harrier.  The number of Northern Harriers that were present and active at the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area and at Antelope Island State Park were at times mind-boggling.  The causeway leading to Antelope Island State Park has on both sides areas of grass and bushes that support prey for not only the harriers, but also Rough-legged Hawks and American Kestrels.  By driving slowly, and pulling over to the side.  You can photograph the raptors from your car.
During the night prior to the last day of photography, there was a small snowstorm, which left about 1 to 2 inches of snow in the valley.  Driving on the causeway, there was a very strong wind blowing across the causeway and across the Great Salt Lake.  The wind help keep the raptors in a hovering type mode.
I was able to photograph the "Gray Ghost" not only flying, but also perched on the ground and feeding on a mouse, that it had caught.  My companion, Middleton, was that he had been waiting 20 years to photograph "great ghost"perched.

Male in Flight - whitish underparts and black wing tips

On the ground

Screaming

Eating

Flying with mouse

For comparison, here is a female Northern Harrier in flight. Notice the darker wings and body and no large black tips on the wings.

There will be more blogs coming about my Utah trip, so stay tuned.