With three or four recently fledged young ones, parents have to stay ever-vigilant against threats. In this case, a Swainson’s hawk was cause for alarm and mama was keen on ensuring her little ones were safe.

I watched as she took off and chased the far-larger hawk off into the distance. She returned to the nest area but only had a brief respite as the hawk did another flyby. Here she is seen soon after launch as she flew overhead in hot pursuit.

I have captured images of two kestrels at a time before but never three – until now.

I recently learned of a very public location where some juvenile kestrels had recently fledged and were still hanging out near home. This past weekend I spent a good bit of time photographing them and their parents.

These little falcons never sit still for long and such was the case on this day. At one point though, I was able to get images of three of them sitting together. Two cooperated and gave me a nice look, the third, well, she ignored me. Haha.

The two on the left are females, a male is the one on the right. I am not entirely sure of the family dynamic at this spot as I saw at least five. American kestrels typically lay 4 to 5 eggs so I presume they are all one family.

Well, check out this beautiful couple! Taken on Sunday, I was actually at this spot to check on an owl nest. While there, I heard the unmistakable call of these falcons and began searching for them.

It appeared there was a bit of drama going on as there was a third female and she was quite intent on stealing away a mate. This pretty lady though would have no part of that and stood by her man, ensuring the other female never got close and preventing her handsome spouse from straying too far.

My time with them actually yielded what are probably my best pics of a mated pair of American kestrels to date. I have gotten pics of pairs before but always on a wire so having them on a natural perch is a very welcome change.

In case you didn’t know, the male is on the left, the female on the right. As with most raptors, the female is the larger one. Additionally, with American kestrels, the plumage of the male and the female are quite different as you can tell. The male, most notably, when viewed from the side and behind, has some gorgeous blue coloring to it.

Taken in Thornton, Colorado.

Driving along recently, I spotted this gorgeous female American kestrel perched alongside the road. As skittish as they are, normally I wouldn’t bother stopping but decided I would give this one a shot.

Thankfully, she turned out to be quite the willing photo subject. She calmly sat perched on a yucca plant stalk and while she was backlit, looked quite beautiful and gave me some nice looks. Here, she was a bit curious about the guy with the big lens that was focused on her.

Some days out taking pictures just don’t turn out as planned.

This past Sunday I headed to the northern Colorado Front Range, certain I was going to have a great day with bald eagles. After over 100 miles driven I had seen a total of two eagles, none of which were close enough for pics.

Frustrated, I worked my way home, hoping to find something – anything – to take a picture of. Just a few miles east of home, I see this male American kestrel hovering over a field, ready to drop on some unsuspecting prey.

As skittish as these little falcons are, I didn’t have much hope but I stopped anyway. Much to my pleasure (and relief), he flew up and landed on a pole right by me. Three times he would go out and hunt the field, returning to the pole each time.

This allowed me to get some pretty cool shots, including this one as he returned to the pole. He looked absolutely handsome and the blue from behind the clouds really helps make the image pop. A reminder to never give up a

I could add another “F word” to describe these birds – “frustrating.”

American kestrels are quite common out on the plains of Colorado and I see them frequently. Getting good pics of them when I do see them though is not common. They are quite skittish and they have a knack for taking off in the direction that prevents a shot. Throw in the fact that they are small (North America’s smallest falcon in fact) and it is just flat out hard to get a good capture of them, particularly in flight.

This past weekend I got lucky and captured a few decent images of a female though. She was perched on a wire like they often are but this time she flew back toward me giving a few flight shots in the process. Definitely was fun.

It has been a while since I have been able to get a good pic of one of these little falcons. They are quite skittish and oftentimes getting images of them is an exercise in frustration.

As I was walking an area open space recently, I saw this handsome guy hunting over a field. He would hover, dive, take flight, hover, dive and repeat over and over. Unfortunately for him, he just wasn’t having much luck. All that activity must have tired him out a bit as he landed on a tree next to the trail and let me get somewhat close and nab a few pictures.

American Kestrels and North America’s smallest falcon but no less ferocious than its larger cousins or any other raptor. They are very adept predators, striking their pretty from above with amazing speed and accuracy (except on this day – haha).

This good-looking fellow not only provided a nice photo op, he also gave me a break from my worries.

A couple of weeks ago while out taking pics in one of our snowstorms, my truck died on me (starter failure). A friend towed me to a parking lot and I waited for a tow truck to take my truck to the shop. I waited. And I waited. The first company assigned to tow me failed to show up and refused to answer calls (I’m looking at you Corderos Towing & Services!).

While I waited, not only was I frustrated, I was bored. Good thing I had my camera with me to help me pass my time!

This falcon held on tight to a nearby mullein plant while the wind and snow blew. Thankfully he was quite patient and gave me a few nice captures and a welcome distraction. While it didn’t make up for the hassle, it made the wait and the cold a bit more tolerable.

Check out this pretty lady! I happened across her yesterday as she hunted a field, hovering for long periods of time over perspective prey.

Kestrels are usually pretty skittish but this one didn’t seem to mind me one bit and let me spend a good bit of time photographing her. Occasionally she would plunge into the brush after some form of prey but each time would come back empty-handed and resume her hunt.

She gave me some of the best flight shots I have ever captured of a kestrel which had me pretty excited.

American kestrels are quite common. Here in Colorado you will oftentimes find them perched on poles and wires, keeping watch on the ground below. They are North Americas smallest falcon but don’t let their size fool you. They are just as effective of a predator and just as vicious as any raptor.