Winter Male American Kestrel

I got to go for a short birding run today and ran into a pair of American kestrels ( http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Kestrel.html ) near the Poudre River in Fort Collins, CO.

From a distance the beautiful colors on a male are very hard to see, but up close or through binos they are quite the colorful raptor. The American kestrel is our most common falcon in the US and also our smallest.

KestrelMaleAmerican KestrelFalco sparveriusColoradoFort CollinsNatureAnimalBirdBirdingOrnithologyRaptorBird of PreyFalconbokehBirdsAvesBird PhotoWildlife2007AveAvianFortCollinsCOMichael Menefee

From The Variety Collection