Rooftop Kestrel

By Words | Published April 3, 2009

It was misty this morning, and I was working through lunch. So it wasn't until I was leaving work that I had even a sniff of a photo. And even then I had made it to the car, had put the camera inside, and was about to get in for the drive home when I spotted something in the corner of my eye. It was flying low along the trees at the edge of the car park, and the pattern of flying looked wrong for the ubiquitous wood pigeons. It settled some distance away. Out came the camera, and peering into the distance I could just make out this:

I'm not even sure if you can see much of anything at that size, and through the view finder it was all I could do to locate what I was looking for among all the branches. But I could see enough to know that it was a kestrel. I started to head over to it, and my luck was in because instead of heading away it flew over in the direction of the nearby buildings… and posed.

kestrelKestrel

kestrelWatching

kestrelLift off

kestrelLanding

kestrelWaiting

I suspect she's the same kestrel I occasionally see in the early morning and have occasionally tracked across local fields. Tonight's encounter was brief, but it made a good end to a long day.
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Camera note: all shots taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

This entry was posted in Bird of Prey and tagged .

10 Comments

  1. cakkleberrylane April 3, 2009 at 2:04 am #

    Amazingly beautiful! The fourth one is astounding!

  2. gdare April 3, 2009 at 5:04 am #

    I like the one where she was watching from a top of a lamp 😀

  3. Ukwildlife April 3, 2009 at 6:04 am #

    excellent set of photos. A nice bonus for the end of the day 🙂

  4. Words April 3, 2009 at 7:04 am #

    Thanks Lois! I'll keep my out for her again.

  5. Words April 3, 2009 at 7:04 am #

    Neil, thanks! Yes it made up for the rest of the day 😉

  6. Words April 3, 2009 at 7:04 am #

    Darko, yes on the spotlight. I liked the mix of nature and technology.

  7. Flying Red Fox Blog April 3, 2009 at 5:04 pm #

    Lovelly Kestrel thats a good catch. 😀 It was cloudy today but hopefully it will ne nicer at the weekend, hope it clears tonight as i have had a good chain of the Moon phases every day since the 28th March not broken yet! 😛

  8. Words April 3, 2009 at 6:04 pm #

    Good luck with the moon. We've been shrouded in mist all day so I doubt we'll see it, but things may be better at your end.

  9. SittingFox April 4, 2009 at 9:04 am #

    I'm sure whoever made that outdoor light would love to use that photo in their advertising! 😀 "Light up the world so you can see as clearly as a kestrel" or somesuch :p

  10. Words April 4, 2009 at 9:04 am #

    LOL! Oversized outside lights with a nature-friendly design… Sharp enough to pick up the tiniest movement… Adele, I think you're on to a winner there. 🙂