I was chasing this tiny baby American toad around in the dark with a flashlight the other night. I didn’t think it was ever going to hold still long enough for a shot. Eventually it stopped for breath up against the side of my shed and I got a few quick shots.

Sigma 150mm 2.8 EX Macro + Sigma 2x TC and Sigma EM-140 DG ring flash. A great setup for nighttime macros with my Canon 1D3.

A young American kestrel (aka sparrow hawk) contemplates taking the big leap to join a sibling already out of the nest.

The first juvenile kestrel to leave the nest. It was not yet able to fly, but could flap its wings to maneuver around.

The final shot of the first bird to leave the nest. After failing to make it back up the tree (above) it relocated to a nearby mulberry clump. At that point I decided it was time to leave. The parents were already quite suspicious of me and I didn’t want to interfere with this youngster getting his lunch.

I went back to check on them a couple of days later and they were all gone from the nest.

Thanks again to Mid-American Energy for notifying me about the electric pole replacement.

Back in early May I got a call from Mid-American Energy telling me that the electric pole at the far end of my property was scheduled to be replaced soon. The kestrel box was fastened to that pole, so I decided to move it. When I climbed the ladder to take it down, I found several eggs inside. I carefully moved it to a nearby tree and thankfully the birds didn’t seem too disturbed by this sudden relocation of their nest.

There were 5 or 6 eggs in the nest, and I saw as many as 3 of the babies at the same time.

The new location enabled me to approach the box without being seen by the birds - something I was never able to do when it was fastened to the pole.