Session with a Kestrel

I was recently invited by Austin Thomas to photograph a female Kestrel.  It is a wild bird that has become very confiding in him, as he has been feeding it for some time now.  He recently won the award of Birdguides photo of the year with a shot of the bird running towards him.

When we arrived at the site the Kestrel obviously recognised Austin's car, as it flew in and perched up nearby.  I got set up, lying on the ground, and in no time at all the bird had flown down onto the track.  This low angle produced some weird and wonderful images.  As it would run towards us, it's feet were at times completely off the ground, and with the track sloping away, the only thing in focus would be the bird.  It was great fun and I managed a good variety of shots in a relatively short session.

Many thanks to Austin for the invite.  I am very grateful to be invited to share, in reaping the rewards of the many hours he has put in, to be able achieve such images.

A Late Hobby

Just over a week ago I spent some time at my local RSPB reserve - Burton Mere Wetlands on the Wirral. A juvenile Hobby had been there for several days and with the wind in the right direction, was giving some close up views of its aerobatics, whilst catching Dragonflies. Over the five days I spent there, only a couple of them really had the bird close enough for some good shots, including it perching up in a tree. There were plenty of Dragonflies around which I assume was the reason for it not being on its way south, as it should have been at this time of year.

Kestrel Up Close

Earlier this week I had the fortune to encounter a very obliging Kestrel. It was hunting for food with brief spells of hovering and then perching on posts, sometimes landing within 10m of where I was standing.