Derek Kite sent me these pictures of a young female Kestrel taking a Northern Alligator Lizard home for lunch.
These pictures are really very nice captures. First, the Kestrel is not all that common along the West Arm of Kootenay Lake and these were taken part way along the arm, near Duhamel. Second, to get a shot of a Kestrel carrying a lizard is superb. Third, in the first picture, the Kestrel is deploying its alulae as it negotiates the tree branches. Its all quite grand.
The female Kestrel flies back to the tree with its prey.
And then rests with it on a tree branch.
Pictures used with permission.
Very nice photos. I had a resident Kestral in my yard, they still nest in that tree and also observed them carrying lizards to the nest. Pictures weren’t as clear but I did take some, partly to see what it was she was carrying. She took a lot of lizards.