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Birds, Insects & Bats in flight (outdoors) Page 30
Image Taken on 08 Oct 2014
at 16:16 Image of day on 16 Dec 2014
Moving between hovers we get a view of the top of this female
kestrel's wings
 05 of 33 (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20141216_df2_20141008_1616_091 kestrel female hovering over meadow looking about & flying off @5fps (selected) 05 of 33 (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 08 Oct 2014
at 16:16 Image of day on 16 Dec 2014
During one hover this female Kestrel's attention gets taken with something
we had no sight of off to our left.
 20 of 33 (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20141216_df2_20141008_1616_155 kestrel female hovering over meadow looking about & flying off @5fps (selected) 20 of 33 (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 08 Oct 2014
at 16:16 Image of day on 16 Dec 2014
We spotted this female Kestrel hunting over our meadow and photographed
her through the bars of a security gate - she is intolerant of humans in the open.
The end of her third hover, when she flew off to the South.
 27-31 of 33 (montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg)
Ref: 20141216_df2_20141008_1616_182-186 kestrel female hovering over meadow looking about & flying off @5fps (selected) 27-31 of 33 (montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg
Image Taken on 18 Feb 2015
at 10:47 Image of day on 02 Apr 2015
Here we caught her hovering for 2 seconds against a distant
hedge, and we hope you can see just how still the eye is as the
wings, body and tail maneuver around to keep her eyes focussed on
the ground.
(r+mb id@1024).jpg)
Ref: 20150402_df2_20150218_1047_097+109+111 kestrel female hovering over road eye motionless for 2 seconds @7fps 01+13+15 of 15 (montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg
Image Taken on 03 Aug 2016
at 16:09 Image of day on 19 Sep 2016
From a hover (always awkward to represent in a montage) at the top right the
female Kestrel suddenly dropped down to gain speed to fly to a new hunting spot.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20160919_df3_20160803_1609_040-048 kestrel female hovering then dropping down to move away 1+3+5+7+9 of 9 (accurate montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 15 Aug 2019
at 13:51 Image of day on 03 Oct 2019
This female Kestrel made a sudden appearance, hunting over the recently
harvested fields. While in our view she made about 7 hovers, each of only an
atypically short 3 or 4 seconds, before sweeping across to another hovering
position. Here, vertically stacked top to bottom, is one of the short hovers. As
you can see the bird was unusually active in the blustery wind. These 3 taken in
less than half a second.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20191003_df3_20190815_1351_032+034+035 kestrel female hovers multiple times for a few seconds over harvested field 1-3 of 3 (spread montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 15 Nov 2020
at 10:21 Image of day on 21 Dec 2020
Every week or two the local female kestrel spends a day or two hunting around our patch.
We don't see any regular pattern to where she hunts and preens though she has her
favourite haunts.
This time she is first spotted on the mains cables supplying the house.
.jpg)
Ref: 20201221_d73_20201115_1021_045 kestrel female hunting from overhead mains cables(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 15 Nov 2020
at 10:28 Image of day on 21 Dec 2020
The female Kestrel hasn't moved from the above pic, but the cameraman moved to the
other side of the wire for a less back-lit image.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20201221_d73_20201115_1028_061+1027_055+059 kestrel female hunting from overhead mains cables (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 08 Apr 2020
at 16:18 Image of day on 25 Apr 2020
Next day, the same female Kestrel was again hunting insects in flight.
The dot below the Talons of the top bird is the insect, in a claw by the next frame and being
brought forward to the beak in the bottom image.
We photographed about 5 instances on this day, but could only find a convincing insect in this one.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20200425_d73_20200408_1618_127+129+131 kestrel female hunting insects in flight 1+3+5 of 5 (montage impression)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 28 Nov 2021
at 12:28 Image of day on 03 Jan 2022
We believe that the original human-tolerant female Kestrel is back.
Here she flies quite close to us to land in a tree on the island in
the main pond, where she stopped for a hunt. We were both already
quite close when she landed for a hunt.
.jpg)
Ref: 20220103_df3_20211128_1228_053 kestrel female in flight(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 25 Sep 2020
at 08:52 Image of day on 09 Nov 2020
The female Kestrel flies from the footrest on the disused Telephone pole
low over the ground and out of sight.
.jpg)
Ref: 20201109_df3_20200925_0852_030 kestrel female in flight(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 16 Oct 2008
at 10:54 Image of day on 06 Nov 2008
Harvesting, ploughing and harrowing the in nearby field has
attracted the corvids flocks, and the kestrels get a few minutes
peace to hunt.
.jpg)
Ref: 20081106_dc1_20081016_1054_120 kestrel female in flight(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 15 Sep 2008
at 13:08 Image of day on 03 Oct 2008
The Kestrels are having a bad time with a flock of a few hundred
mixed Corvids in the area, and at the moment rarely manage more
than a minute or two hunting before being mobbed.
.jpg)
Ref: 20081003_dc1_20080915_1308_023 kestrel female in flight(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 14 Jul 2008
at 08:16 Image of day on 27 Jul 2008
Kestrels (the birds often seen hovering over motorways) are wonderful
to watch whether hovering or not.
.jpg)
Ref: 20080727_dc1_20080714_0816_012 kestrel female in flight(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 25 Mar 2022
at 12:03 Image of day on 26 Apr 2022
She flew off as the camera captured this moment of flight.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20220426_df3_20220325_1203_089 kestrel female in flight 1 of 7 (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 01 Jan 2019
at 14:25 Image of day on 05 Feb 2019
The first decent sighting of a Kestrel, here a female, for months.
She flew past in the distance ...
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20190205_df3_20190101_1425_054-058 kestrel female in flight 1-5 of 5 (close spaced montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 14 Dec 2020
at 09:35 Image of day on 17 Jan 2021
The local female Kestrel spent most of the day hunting over 1000 square metres
of farm margin saturated grass. Read this flight from right to left - the
leftmost bird is folding her wings making her look suddenly smaller.
(r+mb id@1024).jpg)
Ref: 20210117_d73_20201214_0935_034-040 kestrel female in flight 3 of 7 (accurate montage right to left)(r+mb id@1024).jpg
Image Taken on 14 Dec 2020
at 09:39 Image of day on 18 Jan 2021
What a beautiful creature
(r+mb id@1024).jpg)
Ref: 20210118_d73_20201214_0939_225 kestrel female in flight 4 of 7 (crop)(r+mb id@1024).jpg
Image Taken on 03 Aug 2016
at 16:09 Image of day on 19 Sep 2016
A female Kestrel went hunting over the adjacent field.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20160919_df3_20160803_1609_014 kestrel female in flight 7 of 9 (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 09 Sep 2023
at 10:46 Image of day on 30 Oct 2023
Next day the female Kestrel makes a fly-by.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20231030_df3_20230909_1046_037-041 kestrel female in flight @7fps 4-8 of 8 (approx montage @7fps)(r+mb id@768).jpg
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