American Kestrel in flight with a cricket snack

An American Kestrel in flight with a cricket snack from my Better than Bosque Workshop in New Mexico. The Kestrel is flying slightly away, but the glance toward me, the light and the background saved this one - the cricket in its mouth is the bonus - smile.

American Kestrel in flight with a cricket snack (Falco sparverius, Crécerelle d'Amérique, AMKE) from my Better than Bosque workshop. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio, New Mexico, USA. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @1,200mm ISO 2,000, f/8 @ 1/5,000s. Manual exposure. Full frame image.

2024 & 2025 Best of Bosque workshop is live; join me in New Mexico for the fun! Click on the image to learn more.

American Kestrel in flight

An American Kestrel in flight from my Better than Bosque workshop in New Mexico. Talk about heart-stopping action! This was from my last time entering Bosque del Apache NWR (AKA: The Bosque) last December.

I still have one spot left for my Dec. 5-9, 2023 Better than Bosque workshop.

American Kestrel dorsal view in flight

This is another frame from my heart-stopping, off-the-charts, epic session with this American Kestrel. Admittedly, the frame before this one was an ounce better, but I clipped the tail off :)

See my favourite image from the session in my blog post from last Friday: American Kestrel in flight.

American Kestrel in flight

On my way out of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge for the last time this year, I had an epic encounter with this American Kestrel. So many images and so many poses! WOW, I think my heart stopped a couple of times!

The smallest member of the falcon family in North America is also called a Sparrow Hawk. Studies have shown that kestrels can see ultraviolet light. Researchers believe that this ability to see UV light enables them to vividly see the urine markings and trails that small mammals, such as voles, leave as they run along the ground. These trails and urine markings would likely look bright yellow to a kestrel, therefore alerting them to the presence of a meal.