Colonel Sam Smith Kestrel w Vole

[Anonymous]

A couple from today.  He picked it off just off the path and then flew to the centre of the path to start eating.  After a couple of bites, he then flew to a tree where I was lucky enough to find him in some ok light.

[Bird Brain]

Attila ... great pix.  I especially like your first and fourth photo.

Jo-Anne  

[denis]

great shots. i also photographed him today,minus the happy meal.

[Anonymous]

Glad you enjoyed them Jo-Anne and Denis.

Really lucked out with the feeding shots as he flew down the trail with his vole and landed about 40 feet in front of me.  Surprising to say the least, given that most of the feeding shots I've seen of a Kestrel have them in a tree feeding.

Also interesting was the presence of at least one other and possibly a third kestrel, both males, that made several attempts at numerous instances to engage this male.  At one point one of the kestrels flew accross the field and engaged another of the males in a nice little midair dogfight before flying back towards the water treatment plant.  When the bird pictured above flew away from the path with its kill, myself and a couple of other birders watched as it cleared a treeline and was actively pursued by one of the other kestrels in the area.

It's awesome when nature happens right in front of you!

[Luv2Bird]

Hi Attila .. we also took many shots of a male kestrel yesterday afternoon. Sans the vole . but with blood on his beek!
Great shots.
Sue

[egret]

Beautiful!
I like the last photo

He looks cheeky

and I expect a vole is
bigger than a rat

Ill check t his out


Egret  

[Moira]

Great series Attila.

[mr.sharp-photo]

neat pics.
its funny that i never see the Sam Smith kestrel(s) but i have great luck seeing the Spit kestrels.

[rc2009]

Great find.

[ravynne40]

Great shots.

I saw him on Saturday when I drove into the park, unfortunately I did not get a picture.
He's a beauty and highly visible everytime I go there.
no signs of the owl (snowy or Long eared)! the local snow still eludes me

I left the park early on Saturday (wasn't dressed warm enough) LOL Lesson Learned!

Irene

[mr.sharp-photo]

Great shots.

I saw him on Saturday when I drove into the park, unfortunately I did not get a picture.
He's a beauty and highly visible everytime I go there.
no signs of the owl (snowy or Long eared)! the local snow still eludes me

I left the park early on Saturday (wasn't dressed warm enough) LOL Lesson Learned!

Irene

the thing about SS is: there are so many dog walkers that i wouldn't expect to find any owl there on the weekend.
never seen the long-eared owl (perhaps I'm not looking in the right area?) and i've gone during the week as well to look for it and the snowy.

[Anonymous]

Sue - thanks for your comment, and I'd love to see your shots post consumption!

Egret - a vole is definitely not bigger than a rat, but this particular vole was pretty large when compared to the size of the bird.  What amazed me was that the kill took place with people nearby - just goes to show you never know what is within 20 feet of you over there.

Moira - thanks!  Just wish that it wouldn't have been backlit for the first few shots...but there's not much you can do about that, now is there?

Yogi - thank you!  This is the first time all winter season that I've seen it there, so perhaps timing truly is everything.  The ones at the Spit are pretty regular, thus making it easy to spot them at their usual haunts.

rc2009 - thank you, I was quite lucky that day as I had only been there for about 10 minutes before I saw him flying around one of the points.

Irene - thank you!  The snowy is usually either on the docks or on the rocks.  I saw him on Saturday on the western dock in the marina, literally blended into the fencing behind him.  As for the long eared, I figure it's somewhere in the pines that are just north of the treatment facility.  One of these days I'll venture and have a looksee.  Dressing warmly over there is definitely necessary, as the wind coming off the lake can be brutal!

Yogi - Ccouldn't agree more with you, and they're abusing their rights there as it is not an off leash area.  Can't wait for the resident coyote to make an appearance to make it on the 6 o'clock news.

[Bird Brain]

The snowy is usually either on the docks or on the rocks.

Attila ... that would make a great new catch phrase ... "Snowy: Docks or Rocks".  :lol:  A good way for people to remember where to look for the owl at CSSP as well.  

Jo-Anne  

[steve rossi]

Nice shots Attila, great action on the first one.

[Scott]

Excellent series Attila. It's exciting when things like this happen right in front of you and you have your camera with you