Hoot Hoot - A Close Encounter

In February I drove to the Bear River Bird Migratory Refuge near Brigham City - an hour north of Salt Lake City in search of Bald Eagles. Instead I had an encounter with four separate Barn Owl individuals on the road leading to the BMR area.  Reread that - four separate individual Barn Owls in the stretch of 20 minutes, in the daytime. In the span of a couple of weeks I had gone from never seeing a Barn Owl in the wild to seeing four within moments of each other, incredible.

My bird books say they hunt at night but these ladies didn't get the memo. I say lady because that same book says that the ladies are lighter in color than their male counterparts. All four appear to share the same plumage so I will refer to them as ladies.

This barn Owl approached me as I drove down a deserted road leading to the BMR.  She turned and paralleled my movement as she searched the roadside ditch for voles/mice. To get the following picture I had to balance my big lens on the driver's side window, find her in the view finder and focus on her as we drove/flew down the road at 30 mph. We flew together for a good few minutes before she turned off to hunt down another ditch.  She got so close that I could not fit all of her in the frame and ended up "cutting off her wingtips" but getting a nice close up of her face and body.

Days later, on Valentine's Day, I had my last encounter with my original Barn Owl friend in the Farmington Bay WMR.  This owl's heart-shaped face seemed wholly appropriate on Valentine's Day. On that day we had a mix of snow and rain that you can see beading up on her head.   

She shook off the water in a manner similar to the Kestrel who "shivered" in a previous post.

 

My last photo is this beautiful Barn Owl taking flight from her perch on a rock. The colors/patterns on the wing are spectacular and it clearly shows that her feet - sharp daggers that are all business. 

 

When I get back from vacation I will post some Bald Eagle photos and other interesting bird and animals I've seen recently.

Hoot !

What an amazing winter it was for my introduction to Barn Owls. I had never seen a Barn Owl in the wild but saw a photo on a local bloggers post and decided to search one out.

I saw this Barn Owl at Utah's Farmington Bay WMR just north of Salt Lake City. Seeing this bird had a transformational effect on me - I now knew what they looked like, where they resided and how big they were. If you are wondering their body is about the size of a football.   

When I saw this owl take off, pick up a big mouse in a ditch (out of camera range) and land near me to feed - I was hooked. 

I returned to Farmington Bay a few times and got seriously lucky one day. I had parked my vehicle near the area I had seen the Barn Owl on previous trips. An overcast day did not portend great photos but I searched for my little friend and spotted him in the weeds. He spotted me...

jumped into the air.. 

Flew right toward me...

And landed on a post right in front of me - he wanted his picture taken. He got so close that I could not fit all of him in the frame of my camera on subsequent shots. LUCKY!! I will never have another encounter like that and I was happy to get him in focus though I would have killed for either early morning or late evening golden light.

Tomorrow I will highlight my encounter with more Barn Owls later in the month.

On The Fence About Leaving

When we left our baby Kestrels in yesterday's post with the first two to leave the nesting box looking up to see who would join them.

After a few minutes their brother stepped up to the opening - looked directly at the camera and put on a show for me. A show I would have to entitle - "Not So Fast."

The following are a small sample of over 50 photos of him about to leave the nest, then return to the safety of the nest and repeat for 20 minutes or so before taking the plunge. 

Both feet out

Squeeze the left wing out

With both wings and one foot out I can only imagine how hard his right foot and tail were working to keep him in the box.

He went back in for a rest

He folded both wing to get back in the box

A moment after folding both wings to get back in the box he turned and  took flight.

"Here goes nothing"

Upon arrival his brother, on the right, looked on quizzically as his brother went through the same balancing act he had used earlier in the morning.

Interestingly, we watched all five Kestrels exit the box (we did miss the first female's departure) but never saw them return to the box. With five nearly full sized birds it must have been an extremely tight fit in the nesting box. Once out I cannot imagine they wanted to squeeze back in.

We spent the next week or so glued to the backyard activities - we would have to search for the babies because they were anywhere and everywhere. They spent the first day unable to muster the strength to get very far from the fence and trees nearby. The next morning we noticed that the adult male undertook feeding the same three babies  - which begged the question - what happened to the other two and the Mom. We speculated that the newly minted aviators didn't have the strength to leave with her...so did they meet an unfortunate end overnight? Coyotes? Dogs? Cats? We never answered that question and instead found ourselves laughing at the baby Kestrel hi-jinx.

A favorite memory that summer was seeing the three babies sitting in a neighbor's abandoned straw window planter. The three sat side by side bobbing their heads in unison as their Dad approached with food. He fed each one in turn bringing in voles from the hillside. The sight of those three bobbing their heads like the Three Stooges will resonate with me forever.

I hope you enjoyed the Kestrel saga - it was a special summer for Holly and me.

My plan is to break out some of the owl photos from this winter before the weekend.

It's A Big World Out There - Time to go

All of us have turning points in our lives, we've struggled to take that first step and risk it all. Today and tomorrow's post will illustrate that struggle - put your foot forward and jump...

Holly and I were new "parents" and not sure if there were Kestrel babies in the box - so I watched the parents leave and I slunk (thank you Dr. Seuss) out to see. I put my Go Pro to the box opening and ??

these cute little Kestrels smiled for the camera. I very quickly shot a short video so as not to stress out the little ones. You can see in the bottom left of the next photo that there were five Kestrels in the box. Must have been crowded in there with Mom in there too.

We waited with baited breath to see the Kestrels take their first flights. On June 28th I looked outside and saw a female Kestrel on the ground - walking around - which was really strange. I quickly realized that our first Kestrel to leave the nest was this pretty female - nearly the same size as her full grown mother.

The first to venture from the box

Her brother peered from the box - ready to take that first big step into the world.

Finally - after a few moments - he leaped to take his place in this glorious world.

Okay, the landing was anything but glorious.

 

Two Kestrels out of the box and we were glued to the scene - we couldn't wait to see the others join their siblings.  The first two began a curious display - they acted more like cat's than birds. They scratched themselves all morning - I would imagine they were preening their feathers but it really looked like they had cooties.

I have many photos of them scratching all morning

  

 

The morning stretched into afternoon before the next Kestrel left the nesting box.  Big sister looked up at her brother who peered toward the box to see who would join them next.

Tomorrow I will pare down the 50 images of the next boy to leave the nest - his departure was not nearly as definitive as his siblings.  I chuckled as I took the photos and hope you will find them fun too.  

Holly's Kestrel Photo of the summer

Throughout the spring the Kestrels continues to feed at a voracious pace - both male and female.
 

The male Kestrel brought voles in a couple of times an hour

The female Kestrel also fed on voles.

 

The two of them captured voles, lizards and even small snakes.

It was rare to see the two together but even more rare to see them without food.

The shot I missed numerous times was of the male returning to the fence and handing his food to his mate. It happened many times, I would take the shots leading up to the transfer then miss the split second transfer of food.

We have the tendency to place human emotion and reasoning on wildlife to explain their actions. I am guilty of that but also aware that I am doing it so I always caveat my comments with a "I know they are not human - but I interpret their actions this way." That said - I know they are not human BUT - there is something endearing about the male Kestrel giving his food to the female to ensure his off-spring have the best chance of survival.

The following picture captures the exchange - read into what you will - but know that I am profoundly proud of Holly for taking the picture.  She saw the moment approaching, stepped up to my tripod mounted camera and took one picture - BAM, she got it.

 

The male on the left is gently handing his vole to his mate. I say gently because it looks like she is tearing the vole from him, not true, she is just firmly grasping the offered vole.

Tomorrow the fruits of their labor...

Kestrels - Sleek and Fluffy

My favorite Kestrel photos are from a couple of years ago - we're currently waiting by the window with fingers crossed in hopes they will use our Kestrel house again this year.  When I went back to review and refine photos for this post I stumbled across this picture that appears to be a completely different species of Kestrel - soft and cuddly. This little guy has spread almost every single feather from each other - if you zoom in you can see how the spots appear at the end of the feathers - incredibly beautiful. 

 

The following is a series to show how a slick hunter can appear a docile fluffy aviator.  

On a May afternoon this male - paired with the female from the previous post - landed on our Shepard hook with a vole...and looked directly at me.

He gave a short cry over his shoulder then began to shake - much like we do when we shiver.

1/800 of a second was not fast enough to slow down the shivering wings

A few milliseconds of "shivering" and he has gone from a sleek, slate colored killer to an adorable fluffy bird - still holding a vole.

The photo series of his "shiver" lasted less than a second - quite the transformation in slow motion. Finished, he gave me one more look, a cry and then flew off to finish his meal...and kept hunting.

Less than 5 minutes later he reappeared with a lizard who - with all apologies to the lizard - looks like he is smiling for the camera. And yes that lizard has a blue underbelly - and yes I had no idea that those kind of lizards existed in our area. 

I hope you enjoyed today's post and the rare chance to take a close look at the fine feathering of this incredible Kestrel.

More to follow...

American Kestrel - A Fighter

Yesterday I included a (?) in the title because the Kestrel is the smallest hawk and you'd be correct to question their fighting spirit. I know better; today's photos are just one example of the tiny Kestrel showing off their big heart and feisty attitude.

One afternoon I saw this female - the same one who would be one half of "our" couple of the summer. She held a vole in her talons but let's be honest, there is not much meat left on the bone - it's a remnant of a vole. But it is hers.

 

If you live in the West you recognize the Magpie swooping in to steal her vole. The Magpie is similar in size to a crow and shares the same high intellect but has an ugly squawk. They hang out as a mob numbering around 20-25 composed of extended relatives; aunts, uncles, cousins. Their collective squawk, especially early in the morning, is enough to make them a nuisance.  
 

Our female Kestrel is especially annoyed at the Magpie's presence but is not intimidated in the least.

After the attack she held her ground and screamed out her frustration. 

Moments later the Magpie was back to try his intimidation tactics a second time.

She watched as the Magpie hopped off the fence and looked ready to pounce. 

She was having none of it. The American Kestrel's fighting spirit is not to be denied. Out-sized and facing an enthusiastic attack this little lady faced down the Magpie and held onto her meal.

She would need that nutrition over the next couple of months. More Kestrel photos to follow...

American Kestrel - A Lover Not (?) a Fighter

As hot afternoon light gave way to crisp, golden spring late afternoon light I was intrigued to see a lone female Kestrel on a corner fence post. I set up my camera gear to take a nice photo in the late afternoon light - and was surprised by the following event - one that I will most likely never see again; Kestrels mating.

The beautiful princess

The smaller male, with his slate colored wings, surprised both of us when he landed onto of the bigger female.

He fought for his balance with his wings not, if you look closely, with his talons. He does not appear to dig his talons into her upper back in any of the photos.

I am certainly not a bird mating expert so I can only guess if the positioning was correct enough to produce the desired result.

This photo is my favorite - it captures an extraordinary moment I will most likely never see again and yet I am more amazed at the exquisite colors and patterns of the feathers. When I look closely I cannot help but see the American Kestrel as a beautifully drawn flying piece of art.

The rest of the story: When I was on a photo safari in Kenya and Tanzania many years ago I was in a vehicle that pulled up short and stopped in front of a river crossing. To our front, blocking our crossing, where two hyenas locked in the classic mating "doggie style" position. (As a "doggie" type animal I would imagine their options are limited.) I took a whole roll of film - yes, it was that long ago - as my fellow passengers looked on and giggled.  I took the whole roll to get an image similar to the one above - both creatures looking at me while in their mating embrace.  I had seen postcards in local hotels that featured mating animals - as joke postcards - and I knew I had "the" picture for their postcard. Afterward I contacted that postcard company and sold them the image. Years later one of my Air Force Special Operations brethren was in Africa, saw the postcard with my hyena image on it, bought it and returned to the States to surprise me with "my" postcard.  

These two Kestrels did their deed, listened to my story and are apparently as bored as you have been. My story aside, I hope you enjoyed the incredible moment I was lucky enough to witness and even luckier to capture on digital "film."

More images of the fruits of their labor to follow...