Smallest Falcon
Friends, this smallest of the falcons is an American Kestrel. This is a male bird having blue-gray wing feathers and a brownish back, the female has a totally brown back and lovely brown wings as seen in the image below. The female kestrel has the remains from her breakfast on her beak. Yes, I could edit it away with Photoshop, but I choose to leave it as a reminder of their struggle for food and survival. Often they will hunt from overhead wires and hover over their prey, then dive to capture a small bird or mouse. The two black slashes on their face are called the sideburns and mustache :), til Tomorrow MJ
Posted on September 16, 2012, in Birds, Lake Superior, Nature, photography and tagged birds, feathers, Hawk Ridge, mjspringett, photography, postaday. Bookmark the permalink. 8 Comments.
MJ Springett 
great !!
thanks MJ
Seriously MJ, these birds of prey are magnificent! How close were you actually to them? Or do you have a powerful zoom? Margie
i have a 400 mm zoom, but these birds are being held by an educator who is educating, i thought it was a good idea to take some head and shoulder shots of birds that i seldom see up close and personal. thanks margie, MJ
Such a nice bird 🙂
thanks mike, MJ
I like the second photo, it almost looks as though he’s peering over his shoulder sheepishly (though he’s probably only ruffling his feathers) 🙂
he is peering back over her brown wing which makes this bird a female, the male has a blue wing as shown in the top image, thanks MJ