Kestrel

 The kestrel is a small raptor in the falcon family. There are different species of kestrels found around the world. They include the common kestrel in Eurasia, Nankeen kestrel in Australia, grey kestrels in Africa, the American kestrel in the Americas, as well as several other species. Like other falcons the kestrel is designed for quick flight and maneuverability. Kestrels will eat small birds, like other falcons, but will also eat small rodents and large insects. They often hunt by hovering in place over a field while they search for prey.

Kestrels are in the small group of raptors where males and females can be distinguished by their coloration. Like most other raptors the female kestrel is larger then her male counterpart but her coloration is much more muted and earthy. This is a defense mechanism for when the female is on the nest incubating her eggs. since it is smaller then many other raptors the kestrel is often on the other side of the predator/prey relationship. Her brown striped pattern is camouflage that helps her blend in with the sticks around her nest. The male does not help with incubating the eggs and so it is not necessarily for him to be as inconspicuous. As you can see from the top photo the males are much more brightly colored.

Pelican Island NWR

 In the late 1800's Paul Kroegel, a German immigrant, was living on the banks of the Indian River Lagoon on the Atlantic Coast of Florida. His property looked out on a four acre mangrove island that was a rookery for  thousands of brown pelicans and other waterfowl. Kroegel respected the wildlife and put his life on the line protecting the island, gun in hand, from hunters. In 1901 the American Ornithologist's Union and the Florida Audubon Society pushed the state of Florida to pass legislation protecting non-game birds in Florida. Kroegel was one of four men hired by the Florida Audubon as a game warden responsible for protecting the birds. After two of the other game wardens were murdered in the line of duty, naturalist Frank Chapman and William Dutcher approached president Theodore Roosevelt to try and get help from the federal government. In March of 1903 President Roosevelt signed an executive order to set aside Pelican Island as the first federal bird reservation. Kroegel was hired on as the first national wildlife refuge manager. Roosevelt went on to establish 55 bird reservations and national game preserves which eventually became the National Wildlife Refuge System.

In the 1920's the pelicans abandon Pelican Island after a hurricane tore through the island and they did not return for several years. In the 1960's the refuge was threatened by proposed land development around the island but concerned residents pushed the Florida legislature to include 422 acres of surrounding mangrove islands as a part of the refuge.In 1968 the refuge was expanded to include another 4760 acres of surrounding wetland habitat. Pelican Island itself began to shrink over time, due to erosion, and went from 5.5 acres when it was found to a little over an acre in early 2000's. In 2001 a group of organizations partnered together to expand the shoreline using oyster shells as a wavebreak. Today thousands of people visit the refuge each year. When we visited it was not peak time so we did not see the huge numbers of waterfowl that nest in the refuge. We did still manage to find a few birds to photograph as well as some spiders, dragonflies, butterflies, a tortoise and a land crab. 

Darner

One of our newest education birds at The Raptor Center is this young female American kestrel. At TRC we try not to think of the birds in human terms, but since we have over 30 education birds we do name them so that we can keep them straight. Often when we get a new bird we let the community suggest names. This helps to get people more interested in raptors and The Raptor Center. Sometimes, though, the volunteers get to make the suggestions as a reward for all of the time that we donate. In the case of this female kestrel it was up to the volunteers to make the suggestions and I am very proud to say that the name that I suggested was chosen. Let me introduce you to Darner the female American kestrel. We try to name them something that we can use as a teachable moment when we are talking to people during programs or tours. American kestrel primarily eat large insects like grasshoppers, moths, butterflies and dragonflies. During migration they primarily eat common green darner dragonflies that migrate south at the same time. This is the reasoning for Darner's new name.  

Least Grebe

Least Grebe

The smallest member of the grebe family is the least grebe. They are found in a variety of wetland habitats from southern Texas, through Mexico and Central America and down into parts of South America. Like other grebes they eat a variety of aquatic prey, including small fish, tadpoles, frogs, crustaceans and aquatic insects, which they catch by diving under the water. Least grebes will sometimes nest in temporary wetlands, this helps them to avoid losing chicks to some predators such as large fish. When a predator does show up the least grebe is more likely to dive under the water to escape then they are to fly .  

American Kestrel

Falcon

Falcons are raptors that are in the genus Falco. There are 37 different species of falcons found around the world. Most falcons have several similar features. They have thin tapered, or pointed wings. Most also have markings under their eyes called malar stripes. Falcons are usually split into three loose groups. The smallest falcons are kestrels. Kestrels eat a combination of birds, small rodents and insects. Males and female kestrels often look very different with the males being much more colorful. In North America we have one kestrel and it is called the American kestrel, see photo above.
Next are the medium sized falcons. In Europe, Asia, and Australia many of the mid sized falcons are called hobbies. In North America we have a few medium sized falcons the most common of which is the merlin falcon, pictured above. Merlins are a circumpolar species that are found in the northern hemisphere of North America, Europe and Asia. They are primarily a bird hunter, using their speed and maneuverability to chase small birds though the air. They will also eat small rodents and insects, but birds typically equal about 80% of the average merlin's diet. Like most falcons merlins do not build a nest, typically they will use an abandon nest, such as a crow's nest, to raise their young.
Probably the most well known falcon is the peregrine falcon. The peregrine is part of the group of larger falcons. Peregrine can be found on every continent in the world other then Antarctica. They are almost strictly bird hunters. They catch their prey by diving at them at speeds of over 200 miles per hour. Here in Minnesota peregrines were almost extirpated in the 1950's and 60's by the chemical DDT. Fortunately DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972 and through release programs in the 1980's the peregrine has made a complete come back. Unfortunately not all peregrine populations are so lucky since DDT is still used in some parts of the world.

American Kestrel

Yellowstone Part 2

With the weekend over the weather in Yellowstone began to change. We woke up Monday morning to cloudy skies but as we headed into the park some of the clouds began to break up allowing hints of blue skies to peak through.

We were hoping to see some more grizzly bears so we decided to head over to the area around Fishing Bridge and Yellowstone Lake. After checking on the bison carcass in the Yellowstone River where we had photographed the bear the day before and stopping for a bathroom break at the fishing bridge we headed out towards the east entrance to the park.
The east entrance was closed, because of the possibility of an avalanche, so we decided to hang out at Sedge Bay and see if any of the grizzlies that had been seen in the area would show up. We did not see any grizzly but while we waited we were treated to a little show by the marmots living in the rocks. There were also waterfowl down on the lake to photograph, most of which were Barrow's goldeneye.
After a while I got bored of waiting for grizzly so we went back to Fishing Bridge to eat some lunch and then headed around the northern loop of the park. When we got to Mammoth we stopped for a bit to photograph the wildlife in town. Michelle took a few pics of the resident elk herd while I focused more on photographing the mockingbirds and the mountain bluebird, pictured above.

We spent the remainder of the day out at the Tower Junction and Lamar Valley. We did see one grizzly, from quite a ways away, but mostly we photographed ungulates like bison, and their calves, bull elk and pronghorn antelope, and then headed through the park back to West Yellowstone where we were staying.The next morning the weather was even worse. Since we knew that it would be difficult to photograph in the weather we took our time getting going and hung around the hotel for a while. When we finally headed into the park we found that the weather was making it difficult to drive. In most places it was sleeting and raining but around the lake it was even worse with fog often obscuring the road.
We did find a few things to photograph, though the lighting did not make for the best pictures. This male American kestrel was perched on the side of the road near the lake eating some type of rodent in the snow. I guess he did not mind frozen food. We, on the other hand were looking for something warm to eat so we headed over to Fishing Bridge for some lunch.

At lunch we found out that a mother grizzly and cub, which had been spotted at Pelican Creek a few days earlier, had spent most of Monday out by the Lake Lodge just a few miles away from Fishing Bridge. So we decided to head over and look for her since we would have loved to get some shots of a tiny grizzly cub. We never were able to find her, but on our way back from Lake we spotted this beautiful coyote. This was one of several coyotes that we spotted on the trip but it was one of the most attractive coyotes that I have ever seen, with the light color and clean coat.
The bad weather continued on through out the day. It was the only day in the whole week were we did not really see the sun at any time. So we decided to head out of the park early and catch a nice dinner. On our way out we did spot this sandhill crane doing its best to stand up straight in the snow and the biting wind.

American Kestrel Female

American Kestrel

Calendar Pics from Yellowstone

The calendar that I put together each year is like a compilation of the best pictures that Michelle and I took during that year. The only rule is that the picture had to be taken in the year prior to when the calendar was created, although Michelle also has an unofficial rule prohibiting me from including a lot of bugs. Since we usually spend our vacation each year out shooting pics it stands to reason that quite a few pics in the calendar come from vacation shots. In 2009 we traveled to Yellowstone in the spring and 5 of the 14 calendar pics were taken during the trip.

The osprey is fascinating bird. These diurnal raptors were at one time called a fishing hawk however they are not a member of the hawk family. The osprey is in a family by itself mostly because of their unique feet. Osprey have 4 toes which are all an equal length, the toes of other raptors differ in length. They are also the only raptor, other then owls whose outside toe is reversible, allowing it to face forward or back. We photographed this osprey near its nest outside of West Yellowstone.

For the past two calendars, 2009 and 2010, we have featured a picture of an American kestrel. It is possible that it is the same kestrel as we have photographed it in nearly the same location in the Lamar Valley each year. These kestrel pics are some of the best kestrel pics that we have taken mostly due to the natural surrounding in the background, most of the other kestrel pics that I have taken are when they are on electrical lines.

Pretty much every year that we have gone to Yellowstone in the spring we have been fortunate enough to be able to get good pics of grizzly bear. When we have gone to Yellowstone in the fall we have never spotted any grizzly so if you are looking to photograph grizzly in Yellowstone I recommend that you visit in the spring time. We photographed this fellow digging up ground squirrels for breakfast along the road to Mammoth.

The other real cool thing about Yellowstone in the spring is the opportunity, if you are patient and lucky, to get a view of all of the new life. We have photographed red fox in Yellowstone several times over the years but we had always hoped to spot a den so that we could get pictures of the pups. This year, thanks to a tip from another photographer, we got our wish. We took a half a day to travel out to the east entrance where a mother fox had set up her den under the stairs of an old building. Because of their proximity to humans they did not seem to mind people much, even pesky photographers, which was good for us but probably not so good for them.

The other new baby pics in the 2010 calendar were of a badger with kits. We waited a total of about six hours to get the shots, Michelle was smart and stayed in the car reading while I sat out in the middle of a field in the Lamar Valley with a bunch of other photographers, but it was certainly worth the wait. She had four kits that she finally brought out of the den for us all to see. Unfortunately I never was able to get a good shot of all four kits facing the camera so I decided on this one with mom and one of the kids.

Hawk Weekend

This weekend was Hawk Weekend, which is the big celebration up at Hawk Ridge. So I spent most of my time volunteering up at the ridge or driving to and from Duluth. All in all it was almost 24 hours between the two days which made for a long, but very fun weekend.

Both days started out foggy in the morning but cleared up and got sunny and warm as the days progressed. I decided not to bring my big glass with because it gets heavy carrying it around all day and besides it can get in way when I am volunteering so I just carried around the 100 to 400 both days. So with out the big glass I did not do much in the way of flight shots so it was a good thing that the banding stations where hopping both days. We had 30 adopted birds on Saturday and 35 on Sunday, which is good because the adoptions are the main way that the HRBO pays for all of the programs. Most of the adopted birds where either merlin falcons, like the one in the first pic, or sharp-shinned hawks like the one above.

Once in a while we did get something different from the banding stations, like this mature sharp-shinned hawk that had a very unique eye. If you look carefully you notice that both eyes do not look the same. The right eye is the way that mature sharp-shinned hawk eyes are supposed to look. The left eye appears to have an extra large pupil. The bird was checked and it seemed to be able to see out of the eye so it was banded and released.

Another interesting bird was a coopers hawk. Coopers hawks are also accipiters, like sharp-shinned hawks only larger. Coopers hawks are not uncommon in Minnesota, we have a population that is healthy down in the Twin Cities, but Duluth is at the northern portion of their range so they are not as common up at hawk ridge, only 33 have been counted so far this season compared to 4212 sharp-shinned hawks. We did have a coop banded and adopted each day this weekend.

Red-tailed hawks are very common in Minnesota, as well as most of North America, but they don't usually begin migrating past Hawk Ridge until later in the season. However it is common for immature birds to begin migrating before the adults so we have counted a couple hundred of them so far this season. This was the first one that has been banded when I have been around so far this year.

We did see a number of American kestrels fly by this weekend also. Kestrels used to be much more common but their numbers appear to be on the decline, at least in my area. The numbers of kestrels counted each season up at Hawk Ridge has been decreasing and the number of kestrels admitted to The Raptor Center has also been decreasing. That is why the counting and banding work that is done by the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory is so important. The statistical data that they have collected can let us identify trends, like the one that we are currently seeing with the kestrels, and then look for reasons and solutions before all of the kestrels are gone.

That is why the Membership and Adopt a Raptor programs at Hawk Ridge are so vital because with out the funds the important research that is being done up at Hawk Ridge may end and then where will we be? Besides where else can you have a precious memory like the one above!