American Kestrels are a pretty common species in South Dakota. They're here all year, but scarce in the winter, particularly as you move northward in the state. However, despite their year-round presence, I don't have that many photos of them in the state. The reason...they are SPOOKY AS HELL!! The typical scenario is that I see an American Kestrel perched on a fence post or telephone line in the distance, and before I get anywhere close to photo distance, the bird flushes and flies away. I do love my one fave photo here of a beautiful male, but a bit of a frustrating species to photograph here!
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