American kestrel chases a great horned owl

American kestrel chases a great horned owl
A female American kestrel chases a great horned owl that had intruded on her territory. (© Tony’s Takes)

One of those pics I call ‘content over quality’ as the story behind the pic is way better that the actual image.

I visited my local great horned owls and thankfully, easily found dad in one of his favorite trees. As usual, he pretty much ignored me, continuing his morning nap. In the background, I was hearing the area kestrels making some noise but didn’t think much of it.

Well, I wish I had been paying closer attention because they were apparently not too happy with dad great horned owl being near their home. Out of the blue, mama kestrel dives in at the owl! In an instant, he launches into the air, fleeing his diminutive assailant.

Next thing I know, the chase is on. It all happened so fast, I wasn’t ready and my camera settings weren’t right to capture fast-movers but I snapped away anyway as the owl fled to another stand of trees with the kestrel in hot pursuit. This is the best pic of the series that at least shows the fun bit of action. In he end, the owl found himself a different hiding place and mama kestrel settled down.

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