American Kestrel Along the Rio Grande

The day before Christmas, while visiting in Las Cruces, we took a walk along the Rio Grande near the Bosque de Mesilla State Park. As we were leaving, we passed a Kestrel hunting next to the road. We watched and photographed it for a half hour and were even lucky enough to see it catch a small mouse. These small raptors spook easily. We have found that stopping the truck near a perched Kestrel has always caused it to fly off down the road. I was surprised that this one stayed put. Perhaps because the brush is was working from was 100 feet away from the roadside. In any case, we chose to remain right next to the truck while observing rather than trying to approach any closer.

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L

Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L (Danielle)

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L

Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L (Danielle)