10 Feb 2026

The Falcon That Stands Still

American Kestrel

In mid-January 2025, I went hiking with a couple of friends at Williamson County’s largest park. River Ranch County Park opened to the public in July 2023. Its website says the park has “1,354 acres of meadowlands, woodlands, hills and escarpments.” Visitors can explore the park in a number of ways: camping, picnicking, hiking, biking, or riding horses. There is a wonderful interpretive center and a bird blind, too. This American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) was seen along the trail, not at the bird blind. It briefly sat at the top of a faraway tree, giving me very little time to capture more photos.


The American Kestrel is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. One of its most interesting traits is hover-hunting or kiting. Unlike other raptors, kestrels can stay perfectly stationary in mid-air. This hovering characteristic allows them to scan the ground and find their prey with superb precision. Another key feature is that they can see ultraviolet light. Why is that important, you might be asking yourself. The urine of mice and other animals glows under UV. So, a kestrel can follow that path directly to the food source. The blue wings in these two shots indicate that this is a male. Females have reddish-brown color instead of blue.

That is the story behind the shots. If you liked this post, you may also be interested in others featuring American Kestrel, Bird of the Week, Parks, River Ranch County Park, Texas, and Wildlife. Until the next time, keep clicking and capturing the beauty your eyes find.

Linked to I.J. Khanewala’s Birds of the Week Invitation CLV.

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36 Responses

  1. Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
    | Reply

    Beautifully captured bird.

    • Egidio Leitao
      | Reply

      Thanks, Ritva. I only had 20 seconds to capture those images. He flew away.

  2. Lindy Le Coq
    | Reply

    Gorgeous bird and excellent shots! I’ve never seen one in my bird journey.

    • Egidio Leitao
      | Reply

      Thanks so much. The bird sat on that branch for only 20 seconds. I was able to get only 3-4 shots.

  3. Nicole Sara
    | Reply

    So beautiful!

  4. Steve Schwartzman
    | Reply

    This kestrel that hovers in the air also conveniently stood still for you atop a tree.

    • Egidio Leitao
      | Reply

      Twenty seconds: that was the time it sat on that tree. It was just enough for me to capture three shots of it.

  5. norasphotos4u
    | Reply

    Beautiful photos!!

  6. Anita
    | Reply

    Excellent photos of this amazing bird!
    The kestrel is the most common bird of prey here in Cyprus, and it looks very much like the one you show here. Even though they are quite common, I’ve only managed to capture one once. I often see them hovering high in the sky while I’m walking down here on earth with my macro lens.😬

    • Egidio Leitao
      | Reply

      Thanks, Anita. That was my first time photographing a kestrel. This guy did not stay on that tree branch for long — only 20 seconds. I was lucky to see it landing.

  7. I. J. Khanewala
    | Reply

    Kestrels are lovely, and I do see them perched for long times. Never seen the American variety before. You have wonderful photos here

    • Egidio Leitao
      | Reply

      Thanks, I.J. This particular kestrel was on that branch for twenty seconds only.

  8. Joe and Julie
    | Reply

    Beautiful shot of that kestrel.

  9. Tra Italia e Finlandia
    | Reply

    E lui è splendido!

  10. Anne Sandler
    | Reply

    What a beautiful photograph Egidio. I like how the sun was highlighting the bird.

    • Egidio Leitao
      | Reply

      Thanks, Anne. It all happened very quickly. I could only get three shots, and it was gone. I was at the right place and time.

  11. solaner
    | Reply

    Wow 👍👍👍👍
    Well done, Egídio 👍

  12. Hammad Rais
    | Reply

    This the most colorful falcon I’ve ever seen

    • Egidio Leitao
      | Reply

      They are beautiful. Thanks for writing.

  13. Bob Ramsak
    | Reply

    Another beautiful bird – the various shades of blue are magnficent. Seeing UV light – I wonder how my brain would handle that..

    • Egidio Leitao
      | Reply

      Thank you, Bob. Your comment about UV light made me wonder what our photography would look like if we could see UV light. 🙂

  14. Rupali
    | Reply

    This one is just so beautiful, Egidio.

  15. Terri Webster Schrandt
    | Reply

    Stunning kestrel, Egidio! We have our share of these beauties here, too!

  16. philosophy through photography
    | Reply

    Beautiful shot and the bird is colourful.
    Thanks for sharing the interesting information, Egidio.
    Small bird, but very smart hunter. Nature always surprises with such tiny wonders.

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