“Scram!” American Kestrel & Northern Flicker dispute a dead tree branch.

This is my first post on the Great Bird Pics web site, and the image is a personal favorite. It is quite possibly the best picture I have captured to date (and it was taken 4 years ago last month). The image appeared in the 2017 calendar published by The Peregrine Fund, a raptor conservation organization. (All images are donated as part of a fundraiser for this group.)

To capture this image, I was able to pull my car to the side of the road and shoot from the car. Fortunately, I had the late morning sun at my back. Since the Kestrel liked this perch, I was able to anticipate his return after each of his forays into the field where he was catching small grubs. While focusing on the tip of the branch, I waited for the bird to appear in my peripheral vision before firing away a series of shots. The fact that this Northern Flicker happened to land on the branch to check it out, was part of the serendipity of wildlife photography that makes it such an enjoyable hobby.

While the perch onto which this male Kestrel is landing is no longer standing (in a field across the street from the Peace Valley Park in Bucks County Pennsylvania), this particular bird continues to provide photographers great photo opportunities. There is little doubt in my mind that this bird is the most camera-friendly Kestrel I have ever encountered. Most Kestrels are camera shy, but not this bird. (The unique pattern of spots on his chest, make him reasonably identifiable). I have quite a few more images of this bird taken in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Indeed, had I not moved to Massachusetts this Fall, I would probably be photographing him yet again as my fellow bird photographers back in Pennsylvania are doing one again this season. One of our top birders called this individual “the most photographed Kestrel in Pennsylvania” (which he may well be). A bird photographer friend back in the area calls him “The Mighty Hunter” since he is readily photographed with recently captured prey (something I have done as well).