Jim Coda Nature Photography

January 18, 2022Kestrel

Female Kestrel, Point Reyes National Seashore

This is a photo of a female kestrel as she spreads wings prior to takeoff.

Ready for takeoff.

I went out to Point Reyes Seashore yesterday. There wasn’t much to see, except for hundreds of people enjoying the day off. I’m seeing very few elk at Tomales Point since the Park Service let 224 of them die of starvation in 2020 and 2021 while locked up behind that elk-proof fence. That’s half the herd.

This female kestrel made the day a little brighter.

January 30, 2019Kestrel

Female Kestrel, Point Reyes National Seashore

A female kestrel sites on a fence post after eating a meal.

A female kestrel sits on a fence post after finishing a meal.

I was out at Point Reyes yesterday. It was a slow day for me. I saw some bull elk and I saw lots of kestrels. This little female posed for me near the end of the day.

February 17, 2017May 1, 2018Hawk

American Kestrel, Point Reyes National Seashore

With a break in the wet weather, I headed out to Point Reyes yesterday afternoon. It turned out to be a good day. I saw and photographed several bobcats and coyotes.

I also photographed one of my favorite hawks, the American kestrel. It’s the smallest member of the falcon family and the most colorful bird of prey that I know of.

Point Reyes has a good population of kestrels. If you visit the seashore, look for them on fences and bushes.

February 25, 2011Uncategorized

Kestrel Hunts in the Rain

A kestrel sits on a post during a rain shower. — Kestrel, Point Reyes National Seashore

This female kestrel has just finished a meal and is looking for another. I assume she has better places to roost when it is raining, but it had been raining for a long time and she probably needed to eat.