Male American Kestrel with prey on a snowy winter day – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 500, +2.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
I’m beginning to get the winter doldrums because the weather has been so gray that I haven’t been out photographing in nearly a week now. There are predictions of a few more days of gray and then hopefully some sunshine will grace us in the Salt Lake Valley again for more than a few minutes. It sure would help my state of mind to not think about the state of our country for a few hours each day. I am happy that we are getting the moisture we so desperately need here in our desert state but I am so over this gray.
I looked at some of the images I took last year around this time and found this handsome male American Kestrel with prey on a snowy day that I hadn’t edited to share. The American Kestrel was perched on an arching wild rose branch with prey in his bill when I photographed him with snow covered ice and the Wasatch Mountains in the background. The blue at the top of the image isn’t sky, just the mountains which still had shadows on the western slope.
His chest is sure more buff colored than the male kestrel I photographed up north recently whose chest was very pale.
I hope that there will be even a small break in the clouds so I can at least go down to my local pond for a bit. Does any one have a direct line to the weather gods?
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my American Kestrel photos plus facts and information about this species.
Today’s Community Service Announcement: Many of our federal agencies have been censored by the current administration and can not communicate with us about climate change and other pertinent and important issues Those agencies include the National Parks Service, the EPA, NASA, U.S. Forest Service, the USDA, the CDC and more.
Some of the employees for those agencies have gone rogue (volunteering in their free time/off duty hours) in order to keep us, the citizens of the country, updated on science, climate change and much more, I applaud them and their resistance to this deplorable gag order. If you are on Twitter you can follow @RogueNASA, @AltNatParkSer, @AltUSForestServ, @AltUSDA, @ActualEPAFacts, @AltUSFWS. More agencies are joining the resistance on an almost hourly basis.
In just one day nearly 975,000 1,039,000 people followed @AltNatParkSer. I feel that it is horrific that employees who work for us have had to take these extreme measures in order to communicate with us. They have stated they will not be silenced. I support them. Science matters. Actual facts matter.
Wonderful image and framing, as Esther notes. Thanks for the Community Service Announcement.
My hopes have been dashed that the new administration wouldn’t be as bad as I feared; it’s worse!
You are sooooo right!!! Much worse!!!
That is one beautiful assassin.
I feel for you on the grey day front. And am cheering the scientists on.
Thank you Mia! I view your photos each/every day and was pleasantly surprised with the PSA nugget! I’ve passed you’re posting site of a Nikon user group, hope they take the time to read it all.
I feel like a vole….
Beautiful photo, Mia. Don’t let the Gray Days Get you down. Each sunny day coming will outnumber the gray days by far.
Great photo thanks Mia and special thanks for the PSA. We just watched a pair of American Kestrels on a snag by lago Huetchulafquen in southern Argentina. Glad to see some familiar faces down there! Grateful for the rogue truth tellers in our agencies.
Beautiful shot! Love your composition.
Thanks for the twitter links.
I know how you feel about the weather. I don’t care what the temperature is as long as there is sunshine. I think the muzzle being put on government agencies regarding climate change is horrific & downright scary.