Glendale – Page 9

Best bird: American kestrel (Falco sparverius), Glendale, Arizona.

This is my favorite backyard bird. A mated pair of kestrels spend the first months of each year nesting in a palm tree in my neighborhood. Their favorite perch is on top of our power line pole, where they watch the world and harry the doves in the alley. Yesterday I watched this bird repeatedly chase off a Cooper’s hawk that has been loitering on my block.

This photo is for meklarian. With any luck I’ll follow up with a good predation shot this season (a bird’s gotta eat!), though I’ll be very happy with some kestrel fledgling photos in a few weeks.