Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been keeping an eye out for the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) that I’ve seen occasionally near an old barn just north of Courtenay, British Columbia.
Yesterday afternoon it was at its usual spot on the telephone wire after being absent during several weeks of bad weather.

Looks like rat (?) might be on the menu tonight.

I’m still working on getting a better picture of this gorgeous bird. Yesterday the light was pretty poor and I had to increase the ISO to 800 in order to get a decent hand-held exposure (of course when you need a tripod you never have it). Regardless, it’s really awesome to see this species so regularly in the Comox Valley. Watch for them as you drive north towards Campbell River.
Love it! He is going to feel full for a little while. Thx for sharing!
Hard to tell from the image… could be a bushy-tailed wood rat (a.k.a. packrat). Be about the right size. Tail’s too short to be a roof rat, and the tail’s too long to be a vole. Too big for a vole anyway. Great image, anyway!