American Kestrel
Falco sparverus
Kestrel on Grass
This beautiful wooden sculpture captures the ability of this beautiful raptor to hover in the meadows. The bird is carved of tupelo and painted with acrylics. The grass is stainless steel and the base is marble. It is in a private collection.
Dragone It
This full-sized wooden sculpture shows the pride of a successful hunt. The American Kestrel will predate large insects and small birds. Here it has taken a dragonfly.
It is carved of tupelo and painted in oils. The base is manzanita. It is in a private collection.
Life in Perspective
This delightful sculpture shows that it’s all in how you see it. From the mouse’s view, it can be worrisome; while from the kestrel’s view, it’s beautiful. This piece was done at the Vermont Raptor Academy’s October event 2010.
The kestrel and mouse are of tupelo, the base is of exotic African hardwood(petsmarticus) and Herrmann cherry.
It is in a private collection.
Male Kestrel with Mouse
This striking 17″ sculpture was commissioned to complement the female American Kestrel carving. He proudly satisfies the curiosity of his mate as he perches across the room with his soon-to-be meal.
The base is maple burl, the branch, kestrel and mouse are tupelo. It is painted with acrylics. It is in a private collection.
Winter Pride
Winter Pride represents Jim’s first landmark achievement in bird carving and his first major competition success.
This stunningly fierce rendition of an American Kestrel, perched with its hard-fought prey in its talons, was recognized by the judges at the 31st Annual Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition in Ocean City, Maryland and was awarded the red second place ribbon for the Novice Decorative Life-size Wildfowl category. Winter Pride was Jim’s first entry to that competition. It is in a private collection.
Female American Kestrel
Captivated by a distant object of interest, this female Kestrel perches and watches intently, with intelligent eyes. A finely shaped base of walnut provides an interesting contrast to the carving’s natural realism.
This piece is of tupelo, the base is maple burl, and the branch is hand-carved basswood. It is in a private collection and complements the Male American Kestrel with Mouse.
Photographs of this piece were recently published as part of a gallery of photos in Denny Rogers’ new reference book The Illustrated Birds of Prey, published 2007, Fox Chapel Publishing Co. Inc.
