Close Encounter with an American Kestrel near Knights Ferry

We took one of our short excursions yesterday, into the low Sierra Nevada foothills near Knights Ferry on the Stanislaus River. The region is part of the fast-diminishing prairies and grasslands (almonds are the new gold in agriculture around here). We saw several birds here and there, but eventually we started home. We must have passed 200 Meadowlarks, Goldfinches, and Western Kingbirds perched on the fences, but as we approached Highway 108 I saw an unfamiliar shape and stopped down the road. I took a distant shot and realized it was an American Kestrel (Falco sparverius).

I wondered what it would do if turned around and came back up the road (slowly). To my surprise, it didn't seem to care that we were there and I was able to snap a series of extraordinarily close pictures. I've taken a few shots of Kestrels in the past, but never this clear. They are strikingly colorful birds.

The Kestrel is common across North and South America, but their numbers have declined by almost half during the last fifty years, due in part ot habitat loss, and from pesticides that kill some of their principle prey species such as grasshoppers. They are the smallest of the falcons, and sometimes fall prey to the larger raptors.

A Violet-Green Swallow near Table Mountain in the Sierra Nevada

I took a hike to the top of Table Mountain in the Sierra Nevada Mother Lode today. It wasn't a birding trip, but there were a few of them about, including some swallows that were moving very fast over the grassy meadows. One of them finally sat still long enough for a couple of pictures, and I was able to see the green coloring of the Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina). I've seen them before in the Mono Lake area, but this was the first I've identified on this side of the mountain (due more to my lack of attention than any kind of rarity on their part). These birds, like their cousins the Tree Swallows, are residents of western North America, ranging from Central America and Mexico to northern Alaska, depending on the time of year. They prefer open woodlands, which is just where I found them.

Table Mountain is a unique geologic and biologic environment. You can read more about this strange place over at Geotripper (click here).