photo #1643393

Brian Shul Photography. (Archives) This is the time of year that Momma birds are hunting to feed their young. Here a female Kestrel has brought dinner home for her brood of 4, nestled out of sight in that large dead tree. The Kestrel is especially fond of lizards as a food choice, this particular bird bringing many home to feed her young over the two months that I observed her. Pretty bird, deadly killer. Before feeding it to her chicks, she will fly from her position seen here, to a lower limb, I called the chopping block. There, she would hold the body of the lizard firmly in her talons as she proceeded to rip the head completely off, something I saw her do consistently each time she brought one to the nest. The ‘chopping block’ eventually became coated with the blood and body parts of numerous catches, but it was a daily ritual. She would eat the head, usually swallowing it whole, then feeds the body to her family. And life goes on. https://outdoorsstyles.com/