 Immature male Vermilion Flycatcher with a Dragonfly, El Rio Preserve, Sept. 20, 2025. September 20th and 21st my wife and I ventured to El Rio Preserve in Marana* to see which of our avian friends were there to welcome the first day of fall**. We started as early as possible, making it to pond-side by 6 am on the 21st (not so early on the 20th). There was an abundance of insects, especially Dragonflies. So many in fact, that they made it to the top of the morning menu. Here are three species shifting their diets ever so slightly in the dragonfly direction that morning. * Here is a link to a prior post on El Rio: El Rio Preserve: Fall 2024 ** September 22nd at about 11am in Tucson. An American Kestrel Grabs Some Take-out . . . Canon R5 Mk ii, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x Ext., at 700mm, 1/2000 sec., F/10, ISO 1600, +0.33 EV. American Kestrels* are raptors, North America's smallest falcons, about the size of Mourning Doves. They commonly perch on high branches or telephone wires, diving to the ground after rodents, or grabbing insects in the air. They favor open areas with short ground vegetation and sparse trees, including meadows, grasslands, farm fields and parks. They are regulars at El Rio Preserve. The female kestrel above was perched on a high snag over the lake, just north of the main viewing deck near the parking lot. After I captured this image she took off to the east, to my right as I was standing, and disappeared into the wetlands. As she flew back to her perch I was able to get her in my viewfinder and shoot ~16 frames before she landed. Below, she is in mid-air on her return flight. * For more posts on American Kestrels see: New Year's Day 2018 at Fort Lowell Park.  Canon R5 Mk ii, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x Ext., at 700mm, 1/4000 sec., F/10, ISO 2500, +0.33 EV. Female Kestrels are rusty overall with black barring on the wings. Males have slate blue wings with a more pronounced blue crown. In this image we can see that she is carrying something in her talons. In the image below the wings are up and we can see she has probably two dragonflies in her talons. Her rusty tail is in good light.  Below, we see more detail of her prey, including what looks like a blue body. She appears to be carrying her prey with one talon, leaving the other free for a safe landing.  Below, the kestrel has landed!  Canon R5 Mk ii, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x Ext., at 700mm, 1/4000 sec., F/10, ISO 4000, +0.33 EV. American Kestrels are raptors with sharp, hooked bills. She will likely eat the whole dragonfly starting with the head. To see a kestrel lunching on a songbird at Ft. Lowell Park, go to the post Lunch time in Ft. Lowell Park. Caution: This post show a kestrel eating what is probably a Lark Sparrow piece by piece including the feet!  She pauses between bites for a photo-op!  A Black-necked Stilt Swallows Them Whole . . . . Canon R5 Mk ii, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x Ext., at 700mm, 1/2000 sec., F/10, ISO 3200, +0.67 EV. Black-necked Stilts are stately shorebirds with year round populations in North and South America, as well as breeding grounds in the western U.S. They are short to long distance migrants, and Tucson is in their migration range. For more on Black-necked Stilts, and to see them in flight at Canoa Ranch, see my prior post: Historic Canoa Ranch April 2022. As wading shorebirds, Black-necked Stilts eat aquatic invertebrates, small crustaceans, amphibians, snails, and tiny fish. They also prey on larval mosquitoes, soldier flies, brine flies, caddisflies, dragonflies, mayflies, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles (including weevils), water-boatmen, crayfish, brine shrimp, tadpoles, and very small frogs and fish. (Ref: All About Birds). Here we see a Black-necked Stilt working on a dragonfly, paring it down to size for the "big gulp." Images above and below, lifting the prey from the water in the process of meal prep!   I have probably caught this stilt somewhere in the process of disassembling his breakfast. Above and below, the dragon fly still has sizable wings.  Below, this dragonfly had four wings when still flying, now apparently down to two.   Above and below the stilt whips the dragonfly back and forth . . .   Male and female Black-necked Stilts look alike, but I will assume this is a female. After a few shakes of the dragon fly she dunks it back in water and continues her food preparation. In this case playing with your food is not only okay, but an important part of the meal.     We see a bit more of the dragonfly itself in these frames. The wings don't come off easily!    Above, she drops the dragon fly. She picked it up again (not shown), and repeats the whole process. The second round took about a minute and occupied ~35 frames, none of which are shown here (mercifully!) Below, after the second round she is finished pounding her prey and considers actually eating!  Below, our subject has taken the dragon fly into her mouth and turns 180 degrees. There is subtle bulge in the neck  Below, she takes a big gulp. We can see just a bit of dragon fly wing sticking just above the bill . . .  seen more clearly on the cropped image below!  Bird species that live on the water eat a wide variety of food, including some large prey. As an example, below is a link to a prior post:
And, a Vermilion Flycatcher Ponders His Meal . . . . Canon R5 Mk ii, RF 100-500mm with 1.4x Ext., at 700mm, 1/4000 sec., F/10, ISO 1250, +0 EV. Vermilion Flycatchers are year round residents of SE Arizona, and one of the most colorful flycatchers to watch. They are "sit and wait" predators, sitting on a perch, flying out for prey, then returning. Most of their diet consists of small flying insects. However, research (Ref: Birds of the World) has shown that they will capture grasshoppers and butterflies, which they bring back to their perch and beat before eating. There is no mention specifically of dragonflies. My guess is that this immature vermilion will take his catch to a larger perch nearby and eat at least portions of it in pieces. Or, maybe he will just drop it!  That's all for now! More coming soon. Happy trails!
2 Comments
Martha Brasher
9/29/2025 08:53:05 am
Always enjoy both the narrative and the photos—thanks for posting!
Henry Johnson
9/29/2025 03:38:25 pm
Martha: Great to hear from you! I am glad you enjoy the posts. Leave a Reply. |
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