kestrel eating mouse

[steve rossi]

we observed this kestrel fly to a nest , perhaps a robins nest and begin eating a mouse he had stored there earlier upon closer observation of the pictures I realized there were at least two mice stored in the nest, you can see the tail on the mouse he has in his mouth and another tail hanging over the edge. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2768/422 ... e40d_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/422 ... d306_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2545/422 ... a220_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2709/422 ... 5c84_b.jpg

[denis]

great capture there,steve.right spot,at the right time.
denis

[steve rossi]

Thanks Denis,  I know sometimes when you`re out there you just luck out and come across a find like this.
I see you have made some great finds yourself, your amherst trip looks like it was a real success,
the boreal and long eared owl, fantastic.

Steve

[Moira]

Very clear, crisp images with fantastic colour.

[steve rossi]

Thanks Moira, the male kestrel is a very colourful bird.

[Anonymous]

Nice photos.

On a side note, and nothing to do with the photographer, but I really do wonder where the white mice appeared from...

[steve rossi]

Attila, he had these mice stored in the nest, we first spotted him in another tree then he flew to the tree with the nest, we could see his head movements to that of tearing at something, when we moved a little closer looking through the lense we could see he a mouse, it wasn`t untill I looked at the pics on the computer that I realized there were two mice, who knows maybe more. The mouse in his mouth is light coloured and I think light grey on top, so I would say are wild mice and the kestrel was storing up his bounty. I thought this to be interesting behaviour, nature at it`s best.

Steve

[Misty01]

I agree Steve; def. nature at it's best!!

Great photo's  

[steve rossi]

Thanks Misty

[Photoman]

Outstanding shots Steve, right place at the right time. Great sharpness and detail, thanks for sharing.

[ravynne40]

Wow Steve! these are awesome shots!

[Anonymous]

Steve,

I concur with everyones sentiment that the pictures are definitely cool and nature at its best!  Storing up bounty is an interesting trait amongst birds, and is very interesting to capture on camera.  

I just don't know if I agree that they're the wild mice that you think they are, that's all.

Cheers, and great captures!

[steve rossi]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

[mr.sharp-photo]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Attila, the bird flew to the nest that already had the mice stored in it, what type of mice they are is anybody`s guess, I would just have to assume they are wild, what else could they be!!

think its being implied that some dumbdumb (not you) let pet-store feeder (white) mice loose in order to lure raptors down for viewing/photography opportunities.

[What was that?]

For some reason I think differently to others.
Think man eating tiger (tiger does the eating).
Now think kestel eating mouse.
That's really turning the tables.


Graham