Birds of prey are among my favorites. Elegant, strong and fast... but not always so easy to capture with your camera!
I have been recently able to spend a full day observing a particular species of these birds, the Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) and the 12 hours spent in the hide have been rich with excitement, discovery and strong emotions. I didn't know about this falcon until now and it's been a surprise to learn that they nest in colonies of many individuals and they do that easily in areas where man is present, often nesting on roofs of buildings.
It looks very much like the Common Kestrel, but it's smaller and it has light-colored talons, while the other falcon has black ones like many of the other raptors. It preys insects – the Italian name "grillaio" (grillo = cricket) comes probably from that – but also small animals like reptiles, birds and mice.
The Lesser Kestrel winters in Africa and some Asian regions and luckily migrates to our region to nest so we are fortunate to be able to admire such a beautiful bird.
I had this post in the drafts for ages and in fact my last post was so old! It's high time I decided to stop editing photos and finally post again. Thank you for your patience!
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/8.0 1/3200sec ISO 1000
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/7.1 1/1250sec ISO 800
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/7.1 1/4000sec ISO 800
During the day I have been able to observe males and females hunting, mating and fighting. Most of the times the preys were mice and only once I saw a male coming back with a big Mole Cricket. The nests were mainly under the roof tiles.
Some of the fights were pretty strong and in a couple of occasions the birds kept fighting in the air while falling off the roof.
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/7.1 1/2500sec ISO 800
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/8.0 1/2000sec ISO 800
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/9.0 1/4000sec ISO 1000
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/7.1 1/4000sec ISO 800
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/7.1 1/4000sec ISO 800
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/7.1 1/2500sec ISO 800
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @400mm f/8.0 1/2500sec ISO 1000
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/7.1 1/1600sec ISO 1000
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/10.0 1/3200sec ISO 1000
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/10.0 1/1250sec ISO 1000
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/9.0 1/1000sec ISO 1000
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/7.1 1/5000sec ISO 1000
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/9.0 1/1250sec ISO 1000
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/9.0 1/4000sec ISO 1000
EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @560mm f/7.1 1/1250sec ISO 1000
I had this post in the drafts for ages and in fact my last post was so old! It's high time I decided to stop editing photos and finally post again. Thank you for your patience!
During the day I have been able to observe males and females hunting, mating and fighting. Most of the times the preys were mice and only once I saw a male coming back with a big Mole Cricket. The nests were mainly under the roof tiles.
Some of the fights were pretty strong and in a couple of occasions the birds kept fighting in the air while falling off the roof.
No comments:
Post a Comment