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Birds - Kestrel Page 10
Image Taken on 01 Sep 2021
at 13:34 Image of day on 14 Oct 2021
A lovely moment as this female Kestrel flies up to land on an 11kV power pole crossbar.
At the time the bird seemed to be about to fly straight through but aerobraked over
the pole to 'parachute' down for an elegant landing.
(r+mb id@1024).jpg)
Ref: 20211014_df3_20210901_1334_030-048 kestrel female flying to land on 11kv crossbar 01-07+10+12+15+19 of 20 (accurate montage @7fps)(r+mb id@1024).jpg
Image Taken on 19 Oct 2011
at 15:57 Image of day on 29 Nov 2011
Now all the posts along the bridleway have gone, Kestrels have
started using the overhead powerlines as hunting perches - much
less effort than all this hovering business! We caught this
female as she made a flight along the wire to a new hunting
position. We got the whole flight in 40 shots at about 7 per
second but she landed unfortunately obscured by a nearer wire.
Accurately montaging these 5 taken with Hanslope Church tower
as the backdrop (less than half the height of the proposed wind
turbine towers and 3 times as far away) gives an impression of
the elegant bird.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20111129_df1_20111019_1557_432-436 kestrel female flying to new hunting perch on cables over bridleway to north @ 7fps 02-06 of 40 (accurate montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 24 Dec 2020
at 10:50 Image of day on 26 Jan 2021
The female Kestrel moves by at what seems lightening speed (until you
see a Sparrowhawk).
.jpg)
Ref: 20210126_d73_20201224_1050_186 kestrel female gliding and turning in front of young lombardy poplar tree(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 16 Feb 2020
at 08:17 Image of day on 10 Mar 2020
The bird flew past us and we caught this view with the Alulae (Alula plural) - the birds
'Thumb' with a few feathers on it - deployed to the same effect as a aeroplanes flaps.
Her head was motionless as she hung in the wind, continuously adjusting the angles of her
wings and tail. You can see the Grey tail feather quite well here.
.jpg)
Ref: 20200310_d73_20200216_0817_227 kestrel female hanging in strong headwind with alulae pronounced(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 29 Dec 2019
at 10:44 Image of day on 30 Jan 2020
The female Kestrel has been hunting intensively over the farm's fields.
Here she turns a hover into a dive to the ground, but presumably her
prey 'did a runner' and the bird pulls out of her dive.
Unfortunately photographer has already 'lost' her against the hedge and carried
on panning downwards to the landing that didn't happen, so losing focus on the bird
as she flies away.
(r+mb id@1024).jpg)
Ref: 20200130_df3_20191229_1044_071-084 kestrel female hovering + diving + pulling upward 01-14 of 14 (montage accurate 03-14)(r+mb id@1024).jpg
Image Taken on 10 Nov 2019
at 10:15 Image of day on 20 Dec 2019
Several sightings of Kestrels this week have been mostly whoosh and gone.
But this bird is intent on a hunt over the sprouting crop.
(r+mb id@1024).jpg)
Ref: 20191220_df3_20191110_1015_028-030 kestrel female hovering 1-3 of 3 (vertically separated montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg
Image Taken on 18 Feb 2015
at 10:43 Image of day on 02 Apr 2015
The local female Kestrel spent a couple of days intensively
hunting around our patch.
Here are 3 images vertically spread of her hovering. She spent
about 5 minutes in a hover near the farm entrance oblivious to
the traffic, dropping down in steps over what was obviously a
'beak-watering' prey.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20150402_df2_20150218_1043_003+027+028 kestrel female hovering 1-3 of 3 (vertically spread montage)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 22 Aug 2020
at 14:59 Image of day on 04 Oct 2020
An hour later the female Kestrel surprised us by momentarily hovering about 2m
above the back 'garden lawn'. The photographer just pointed the camera and
'fired', and was surprised to find even 2 frames with reasonable pics of the
kestrel on it. Long-live Auto-focus!
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20201004_d73_20200822_1459_243 kestrel female hovering 2 metres high over back garden grass 1 of 2 (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 01 Jan 2019
at 14:26 Image of day on 05 Feb 2019
... and rose up for another hunt. All in 2 minutes.
(r+mb id@432).jpg)
Ref: 20190205_df3_20190101_1426_089+087+090 kestrel female hovering 4+2+5 of 6 (vertically spread montage)(r+mb id@432).jpg
Image Taken on 01 Jan 2019
at 14:25 Image of day on 05 Feb 2019
... turned (into the wind of course - she is also know as a 'Wind Hover') and Hovered ...
(r+mb id@432).jpg)
Ref: 20190205_df3_20190101_1425_067-064 kestrel female hovering 4-1 of 4 (montage spread upwards)(r+mb id@432).jpg
Image Taken on 05 Dec 2025
at 10:26 Image of day on 20 Jan 2026
This female Kestrel took advantage of strong breeze to mix a hovering hunt
with standing on posts, railing and tree branches to look for prey.
The bird was as usual basically stationary in the air, so we have spread
the images top downwards to enjoy multiple moments.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20260120_r70_20251205_1026_021-026 kestrel female hovering @8fps (downward spread montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 14 Dec 2020
at 09:35 Image of day on 17 Jan 2021
A bit more detail of the hovering Kestrel.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20210117_d73_20201214_0935_072 kestrel female hovering in gusty wind 10 of 12 (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 14 Dec 2020
at 09:35 Image of day on 17 Jan 2021
Here hovering in a blustery wind you can see that the female Kestrel's beak tip
is motionless against the distant tree despite the movements of her wings and body.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20210117_d73_20201214_0935_066-073 kestrel female hovering in gusty wind maintaining head position 04+06+07+11 of 12 (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 16 Oct 2023
at 13:18 Image of day on 30 Nov 2023
One of the more interesting moments in one of the Kestrel's hovers.
Kestrels always face into the wind when they hover and apparently can not
hover in still air. A well established common name is the 'Windhover'.
.jpg)
Ref: 20231130_df3_20231016_1318_068 kestrel female hovering in strong wind(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 22 Sep 2022
at 12:42 Image of day on 31 Oct 2022
More usually Kestrels around here hunt from perches on the numerous cables and
their support posts. But with a decent wind this one follows the traditional
behaviour for a 'Windhover' of hanging staggeringly stationary head-on into the
breeze using judicious wing flaps and manoeuvring her various flight feathers
and tail. She suddenly dived down behind a hedge and, for us, disappeared.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20221031_df3_20220922_1242_016+014+017+019+023 kestrel female hovering in strong wind (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 25 Feb 2016
at 12:43 Image of day on 29 Mar 2016
After spending a few minutes hunting from a Black Poplar by the roadside this
female Kestrel was hovering to our east facing into biting north wind.
 (montage impression)(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20160329_df3_20160225_1243_034+051+064 kestrel female hovering in strong wind (selected) (montage impression)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 14 Dec 2019
at 11:08 Image of day on 18 Jan 2020
Next day we watched her hunting over the farm crop. She took up a series of
hover positions, as always facing into the wind, but the wind was so strong that
she hardly ever flapped her wings, keeping station by endless adjustments of the
wing angles, tail position and the Alulae (the wing's 'thumbs'). Wonderful to
watch such accomplished flight.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20200118_df3_20191214_1108_100+104+106 kestrel female hovering in strong wind without flapping wings 1+5+7 of 7 (offset montage)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 21 Nov 2021
at 10:45 Image of day on 28 Dec 2021
The new Female Kestrel doesn't provide any opportunities for hand-held portraits,
but she hunts while hovering much more than 'Grey Feather', so here is one
of her near the Bridleway to the north, hovering in front of an 11kV cable.
The hover starts at the top and this sequence, with a cable a useful
vertical reference, and a tower (cropped out) providing horizontal positioning,
shows how well the Kestrel keeps station.
Here is a general view of about 1.3 seconds of action ...
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20211228_d72_20211121_1045_009-019 kestrel female hovering near 11kv cables 01-11 of 11 (montage 1 @8fps)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 21 Nov 2021
at 10:45 Image of day on 28 Dec 2021
... and here more detail of the bird to see the wings and tail in action.
(r+mb id@1024).jpg)
Ref: 20211228_d72_20211121_1045_009-019 kestrel female hovering near 11kv cables 01-11 of 11 (montage 3 @8fps)(r+mb id@1024).jpg
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
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