{"id":2387,"date":"2012-09-10T22:09:41","date_gmt":"2012-09-10T21:09:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.permuted.org.uk\/photography\/archives\/2387"},"modified":"2013-11-03T20:49:36","modified_gmt":"2013-11-03T20:49:36","slug":"dining-on-the-wing-kestrel-magic-at-sheepcote-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.permuted.org.uk\/photography\/dining-on-the-wing-kestrel-magic-at-sheepcote-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"Dining on the Wing (kestrel magic at Sheepcote Valley)"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

The most distinctive trick that kestrels have is their ability to hover. It really is quite remarkable to see them stand still in mid-air, motionless over a single point as they keep a sharp watch for prey. That, however, is not the only trick in their book. It's one thing to stand still and watch, quite another to devour prey without setting foot on the ground. I've seen them do this before, but I had some pretty good views again today. Here's a kestrel with the relatively simple task of eating a bush cricket on the wing.
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One of the reasons for eating in flight may be to avoid the thieving tendencies of that most familiar scavenger, the magpie. Here a pair of magpies startle a pair of kestrels.
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A short while later I spotted another feasting kestrel, and this time its prey was not the relatively simple snack of a cricket but the much more substantial meal provided by a shrew. Ripping into one of these while maintaining steady flight is an altogether more challenging task, but one with which it had no trouble at all.
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And just a couple of garden favourites to round things off. The badger is from last night.
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And the fox (Shy Boy) from earlier this evening.
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Camera note: all kestrel shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens. Fox and badger taken with the EF 200mm f\/2.8L II USM lens. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[994,990,980,4,3],"tags":[160,1128,1152,1131],"class_list":["post-2387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-badger-wildlife","category-bird-of-prey","category-birds-2","category-foxes","category-wildlife","tag-badger-2","tag-fox","tag-kestrel","tag-prey","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t