This little guy / gal was having a nice, quiet morning, just sitting and enjoying the sun and watching folks drive by. That is, until a hawk decided it wanted to play. I was watching the falcon when, out of nowhere, a ferruginous hawk flew in and knowing it was outmatched and outsized, the falcon departed. While I missed getting pics of that bit of action, thankfully for me, the falcon simply went for a quick tour and came right back, giving me a nice sequence of light shots including this one.
Prairie falcon performs a flyby in the rain
Despite the cruddy weather, yesterday’s photo outing was quite good for me. I was most excited to find this cool raptor. Normally I see quite a few of these during the winter but this year, I have only seen one other and that one didn’t give me any worthwhile pictures. I spotted this one perched on a pole, riding out the rain that started the day. The rain coupled with dim lighting conditions made for difficult shooting conditions, so I was pretty surprised my pictures of it doing a flyby came out as well as they did. Not the best but far better that I would have expected. Hopefully I can find it again when conditions are better. My camera and I were pretty wet by the time we were done.
Top Shots 2023 – Raptors
As I do every year, I sit down and pick my personal ‘top 25’ of each of my photo subjects from my previous photo year (Oct – Sept). For the first of these, let’s start with raptors – falcons, hawks and eagles. These impressive masters of the sky oftentimes donate my photography and it is easy to see why.
Pretty prairie falcon poses on its perch
Having fun with P’s for that title. 😉
This awesome raptor has been a bit of a fixture in one of the places I frequent and it has become quite comfortable with being watched. On this day last week, it sat and gave me some nice poses.
You can tell it is relaxed in that it has its right leg tucked up to its chest, probably to keep it warm. When birds do this, it is a good sign that they are okay with you and aren’t in any rush to go anywhere. If that talon comes down though, you can bet they are getting ready to go.
Prairie falcon takes a dive
These cool raptors can be found in Colorado year-round but I most often see them in the winter. In recent weeks one has been pretty consistently hanging out in a spot I drive often on my outings and it has given me some pretty cool captures.
Most recently, on New Year’s Day, I spotted it on a pole. It was in no mood for pictures though, perhaps it was suffering a hangover from the night before. 😉
I managed a couple quick shots of it posing and then it made a dramatic dive and headed off to parts unknown. Prairie falcons usually prey on small mammals like mice and voles but will sometimes opt for smaller birds. I have seen one dine on a western meadowlark before.
Video slideshow – top shots 2022: Raptors
Beautiful and yet vicious, whether a falcon, hawk or eagle, raptors are amazing creatures and the kings and queens of the skies. I don’t know how many different species of them I have photographed but there have been quite a few from North America’s smallest falcon, the American kestrel, to one of its biggest raptors, the gorgeous golden eagle.
Prairie falcon launches after its prey
A fun encounter on Thanksgiving Day with this not-often-seen raptor.
I was out for a morning photo excursion and spotted it on a post. After giving me some nice poses, it launched into the air, coming toward me at some unseen, unsuspecting prey.
Heavily overcast skies made for some tough shooting conditions and light was at a premium but it was fun to see this guy / gal and grab some captures. I like falcons better than turkey anyway. 😉
Prairie falcon steals a harrier’s meal
Saturday I posted a photo slideshow of this encounter and promised I would later post some individual pics of the action shown in it. Here you go. These give you a closer look at some of the incredible action that took place. I definitely would recommend checking out the slideshow here too if you haven’t.
Photo slideshow: Harrier vs Prairie Falcon
Well, this was one awesome encounter! I happened across this young female northern harrier as it was eating some rabbit leftovers.
As I was photographing it, the harrier suddenly leaped into the air and out of nowhere a prairie falcon appears and tries to steal the rabbit! It wasn’t successful on the first attempt so it circled for a second try, pulling up at the last minute.
The falcon was not done though. It circled for a third and final try and this time, success! As it flew off with the rabbit remains, it began to lose its grip, eventually dropping the meal to the ground. The thief decided it was all too much effort and continued on, giving up, while the harrier flew over and was able to finish its meal in peace.
While some of the pics aren’t all that great, it was a ton of fun to see. As there were so many pics to tell the story, I figured a video slideshow would be the best way to present them. Best viewed full screen. I will share some of the standalone images later today.
Prairie falcon hunts a field
One from yesterday on what was a bone-chilling cold morning on the plains. The temperature didn’t bother this raptor though as it circled a field, looking for a meal.
Usually these guys are pretty skittish but this one was kind enough to give me a few nice flybys. As it circled, I was really hoping it would find something to eat but it was not to be, at least not while I watched. Given the cold, I wasn’t going to linger around either. 😉