Everything is Permuted
Photography



Kestrel with Prey 2008

This sequence of shots is an initial selection from around 200 images taken on 12th October 2008 on the South Downs, just north of Brighton.

I'd been out on the Downs for about an hour on an unusally warm autumn day. The location is excellent kestrel terrain, with thick grassland, and undulating valleys. I eventually spotted a kestrel hovering about half a mile away, and started to make my way in its direction. The first few shots show my approach and some shots of the kestrel in flight.

As I got close it swept along the ridge to some trees, where it rested for a few minutes before resuming its hunt. What follows is a sequence of shots showing the kestrel hovering, sweeping over the grassland with its prey, and then coming down on a path for the business end of the process. The first shots were taken from a good distance away, but I slowly moved progressively closer, taking care not to startle the bird. Eventually I was within about 30 feet of it.

All shots were taken with the Canon EOS 40D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens. For the shots of the kestrel devouring its prey I supported the camera on a Manfrotto 458B Neotec tripod and 488RC2 ball head.


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Total images: 24 | Last update: 12-10-2008 | Generated by JAlbum 7.2 & Chameleon | Help

 

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all text and images copyright Paul Cecil, 2005-2008