Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: high branch

Very poor quality - posting just for the record : ) Almost always when I do see an American Kestrel, it is perched way off in the distance. Yesterday, 23 September 2016, was no different. I had a few errands that needed to be run and then I called in at Fish Creek Park, hoping that I might just see the juvenile Black-crowned Night-Herons that some people are still seeing down there. Totally out of luck, though I did see a Belted Kingfisher perched off in the distance. Luckily, I had seen the Night-Herons a few weeks ago, during a birding walk. This was the second time this Kestrel flew to this branch. The first time, it landed with a dragonfly that it had caught. After eating the tasty parts, it flew off, circled and then returned to this perch. The sky turned blue just at the right time. I wonder if Kestrels eat Mosquitoes - there were quite a few of those around. I don't know if those are Mosquitoes that you can see flying nearby. "North America’s littlest falcon, the American Kestrel packs a predator’s fierce intensity into its small body. It's one of the most colorful of all raptors: the male’s slate-blue head and wings contrast elegantly with his rusty-red back and tail; the female has the same warm reddish on her wings, back, and tail. Hunting for insects and other small prey in open territory, kestrels perch on wires or poles, or hover facing into the wind, flapping and adjusting their long tails to stay in place. Kestrels are declining in parts of their range; you can help them by putting up nest boxes." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel/lifehistory

As you can tell by the colour of the sky, the weather wasn't very good when I called in at a local park on 1 May 2014. Quite a cute photo, though not good quality. I had been there two days earlier and discovered that both owlets had fledged. That time, one owlet was perched on a high branch next to Mom and the other was almost at the very top of the same very tall tree. On the day I took this photo, both little ones were huddled together next to Mom. Thank goodness for lots of zoom : ) After something like 10" of snow yesterday, it was still snowing early this morning, but seems to have stopped, at least for the moment. (Yep, sure enough, it's snowing again now!). I'm really hoping that the forecast showers tonight will clear the snow off my vehicle, as I can't lift my very painful arms and shoulder high enough to do it. I don't have the choice to stay home tomorrow, as I have to go and get my Taxes done, lol. More snow tomorrow and the next day : (