Friday, January 2, 2009

Kestral Hunting

Walking a path lead me to a Kestral perched at the top of a sapling. I froze and lifted my lens. Of course it flew, but what I didn't expect was for it to rise up and flutter over some unlucky rodent. It was pretty cool to be so close and watch.











She never did snatch her prey, but the show lasted for at least a minute or so, before she selected a new area to hover over.



It was the coolest thing to happen to me so far this year!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful..
I always wondered how to shoot birds so clear when they fly..

Nick S said...

Lovely hovering shots :-) Happy New Year to you !

Tina said...

Such wonderful birds appear before your lens! These are such great detailed shots..I almost feel like I was there, watching...of course, I wish I kind of was..haven't had the priv of seeing a kestral yet!! Nice post.

Shelley said...

Such a magnifient flight you captured! Loved seeing the detail on the wings!

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

AWESOME!
Blessings,Ruth

Eve said...

These are great Hannibal!

The Birdlady said...

And the hits just keep on coming.....

jalynn01 said...

What awesome shots you got!! I love to see Kestrels in flight and hoovering. You caught this one in perfect form. The last shot is my favorite with the wings outstretched.

Richard said...

Hannibal...I have a picture to show you. Please email me thru my blog.

Gardener's Garden said...

Thanks so much for sharing this beautiful bird and I'm looking forward to many more in the new year.

Dawn Fine said...

How very exciting..You have some wonderful shot here!
Happy new year to you!

Ed said...

Nice! The best shots are when they are hovering.

Gone2theDawgs said...

What a beautiful, elegant bird. I can't imagine how exhilarating that would be in person to catch with my camera!