Tammie Rogers
Inspired by Dogs & Nature
A Little Better
A couple of weeks ago I posted some photos of an American Kestrel that I claimed weren’t great, but better than the previous images I had captured of this brilliant, small falcon.
I’ve heard that what you toss out into the Universe often comes back to you. A week later, I was surprised to see a Kestrel sitting atop a bird nest box just about 30 feet from my office window. I suppose that shouldn’t be a surprise since the Kestrel is often referred to as a “Sparrow Hawk” and just off the deck we feed birds – most of which are small, sparrow like creatures. But, it seemed like a gift to me.
I didn’t post it at the time because, to be honest, I wasn’t terribly thrilled with the quality (it being shot through glass and in low light.) That is not to suggest that I wasn’t elated to see this bird so close to the house looking so very handsome.
Yesterday was forecast to be very cloudy, but when the sun peered out for just a moment I couldn’t hold back from getting in the golf cart for a little jaunt around the place. I hadn’t been out for days due to inclement weather. I didn’t even care if I saw a bird, I just wanted to feel the tranquility of nature for a spell.
My first stop was the pond where, immediately I heard the Swamp Sparrows that reside in that zone. One day I will get a good photo of that species, but it wasn’t to be yesterday.
I heard a small flock of Canada Geese flying over. I still had the Merlin app running to identify that Swamp Sparrow and it not only identified the Canada Geese but also at least one Cackling Goose was with the flock. That was interesting. I did a quick bit of research to find out that the Cackling Goose looks almost identical to the Canada good, except for size. It’s smaller. I could also distinguish the differences in the call sounds that were posted at AllAboutBirds. I’m going to call it a new species – fly over. It will be the first new species of 2023.
Things settled down and I was contemplating moving on, away from the pond, when something caught my attention. It was a Kestrel. He flew from the south, not very high (maybe 30 feet), and soared over the pond directly in front of me, then turned hard and flew behind me, then back to the south where he landed on the power lines of the road that runs along our property line. I got the impression that he was beckoning me to not only see him, but follow him. Where he landed was very close to where I had filmed a Kestrel a couple of weeks ago. I suspect it was the same bird.
I had little hope that he would remain on the wire until I got closer. I figured he would fly off as I approached. However, I was wrong. He remained on the utility line until I was within 100 feet. I didn’t dare try to get closer. I find it fairly challenging to take photos while shooting upwards, but I gave it my best shot and a few times the sun peek out from behind the many clouds and I was able to get these images.
I usually prefer a more nature setting (a bird on a tree branch versus perched on a man-made feeder for example.) However, I actually believe that the power lines provide this little hawk a better advantage for hunting than if they were not in the environment. So, I’m ok with the composition of these pics.
These are my best photos, thus far, of a Kestrel. However, they are far from the clarity I aspire to attain. Hopefully, I will be able to share images of a Kestrel, again soon.
Tammie Rogers 
Hi Tammy, nice pictures of this male Kestrel. We have a male Kestrel here in our local park and surroundings that has a stunning blue back. I would like to get a picture of it. But mostly I see it flying. I have heard he sits on a fence in the park. I have never seen one with that stunning color before. I have seen hundreds of male Kestrels in my life.