Monday, June 14, 2010

Bird's Eye View


Over the years I've spent a lot of time staring up into the sky to watch kestrels, but a walk along the cliffs south of Dawdon on the Durham coast at the weekend provided a wonderful opportunity to look down on one for a change.


We were standing almost directly behind it, on the edge of the cliff, and it was so intent at hunting something in the grass on a ledge on the cliff face that it ignored us, so we could watch every minute adjustment of its feathers as to effortlessly held position in a stiff north-easterly breeze.

Eventually it lowered its talons and stooped on its prey, carrying it off to its nest site further along the coast.

12 comments:

  1. Great shots from a unique perspective. Thanks for posting them. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kestrels may be a lot smaller than many birds of prey but they're beautiful birds. Like you Phil, I've only ever seen them from below before so it's lovely to get a close-up view of it from above. Its markings are wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a wonderful experience. Great shots.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Frank, this is always a great spot for watching kestrels but this was the first time I'd seen them from this angle...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Brilliant Phil. Not often we see the patterns on top of the wings.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Lesley, I'm always surprised at how small they are when you see them perched .... if they didn't hunt by hovering they'd be easy to overlook..

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi John,
    I wish I'd had a proper telephoto lens with me - I'd gone there to photograph butterflies, so this was with a 180mm. macro lens

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks Threadspider, these cliffs are a good spot for watching fulmars too -

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi John, it really is a beautifully mottled pattern...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Cracking set of shots Phil. Great to be there right with him while he hunts.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Keith, I never tire of watching the precise control they have over flight - truely wonderful..

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.