Images of American Kestrel Falcons – Tucson, Arizona, taken in March 2025.


The American Kestrel is North America’s smallest falcon and the second smallest falcon in the world. It is one of the most colorful falcons, which makes it easily identifiable, and can be found throughout North and South America, from Alaska and Canada to Chile and Argentina. They have a wingspan of 20 to 24 inches and can fly up to 39 miles per hour. They are ‘perch-hunters’ who scan the surrounding area for their next meal, which can be anything from insects and small birds to mice and lizards.

Initially, I saw these falcons from my RV, entering an old Gila woodpecker nest in a saguaro cactus about twenty feet off of the ground. I thought they might be building a nest as they are known to take over previously constructed nests for their own use. However, after watching them come and go for about a week, they left and never returned, which may indicate that they were simply using the nest to cache food for later use. Nevertheless, they put on quite a show as I was lucky enough to photograph them sharing a lizard on top of a saguaro, which had been caught by the male.