Strictly speaking these shots were taken shortly after dawn, but it was cloudy and the sun had barely crept above the surrounding hills. The ground underfoot was frozen (thankfully, otherwise it would have been mud). The conditions were less ideal. I had already seen a buzzard fly over, and in the short amount of time I had I was I wasn't too hopeful of anything else until I spied a kestrel in the distance. 
After which it got on with the serious business of hunting for breakfast; and I headed in to work.
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.
gdare
14 Dec 2012Originally posted by derWandersmann:
😆 I wanted to ask the same question 😀
derWandersmann
14 Dec 2012Difficult shots, Words. Got a bit of colour into that last. Has he got a piece of string, or is that a string of something else?
SittingFox
14 Dec 2012Probably good hunting for the kestrel in those conditions (rodents having to be active due to the cold).
Words
16 Dec 2012Adele, yes it must be tough for the smaller rodents during the winter. The constant need to feed. It's good for the raptors though.
Words
16 Dec 2012dW, I'll put it this way. You don't want to be hit by that 'bit of string', though some people say it brings good luck if you are. :yuck: What I was surprised by was the way it crouched in mid air to do it, but then kestrels do more or less everything in flight.
Words
16 Dec 2012Darko, 'Something else' 😉
gdare
18 Dec 2012My friend got hit by a big string coming from a gull, while waiting for bus. Twice :ko:
Words
18 Dec 2012Darko, that's double good luck for your friend! 😀