Red Kite

 

Looking at these shots can you see why I love these birds so much?

They have such striking plumage and a piercing gaze, and in flight they are the most agile acrobats.

Watching them as they flew in over the hill tops they were performing somersaults and aerobatics.

Capturing images of these birds in flight is quite tricky as they move with such speed, it is hard to track them but even to get a few decent pictures is a good reward and enough to entice me to visit this wonderful location again.

Kes

I can't remember how old  I was (probably around 10 or 11 I think) when I first saw Ken Loach's movie following the life of young Billy Casper and his experiences with falconry. I was really moved by the film and (spoiler) I think I even cried when Billy discovered Kes' fate at the hands of his thuggish older brother Jud. I later read the book on which the film was based (A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines) and I fell in love with the idea of owning a kestrel myself. 

I never realised that dream but my love for birds of prey has never diminished. I always get a thrill when I see Buzzards soaring or Kestrels hovering near the roadside, I get excited when driving through Wales and see the beautiful Red Kites and invariably I get frustrated that I can't stop to capture shots of these amazing birds. 

I know it isn't quite the same photographing captive birds but visiting bird sanctuaries does provide an opportunity to get up close and really appreciate the beauty of these creatures.

Today's shots are of a really lovely female Kestrel and I think you can see why I love them so much. I love the rich brown tones (I had to check that they are brown ha ha) and the patterns on its feathers, I like the intensity of its glossy black eyes and I like how even though they look so delicate these are really powerful birds, fast and agile they are just beautiful.

Turdus philomelos

Today I headed off to Snowdonia hoping to get shots of some nice snowy scenery. The conditions weren't very good and the light was poor so the landscape shots weren't too promising. 

Walking along by the road I spotted this lovely Song Thrush and took a quick shot before it flew off into the field. It was quite shady in this particular spot so I have had to enhance the lighting and crop the picture quite a lot but it still makes a nice wintry image. 

The Song Thrush is a species in decline in the UK so I am always really pleased when I see one. They are so elegant and pretty and of course they sing beautifully (the name is a bit of a giveaway really). The species name is a bit unfortunate though.

A Scavenger Am I?

So there I was sat on the harbour wall at New Quay, watching the dolphins in the bay and eating a delicious pastie and soaking up the early afternoon sun when along came this beautiful Herring Gull. Quite clearly it was looking for scraps and its friend not quite so bold hung back a little waiting to see if it was worth getting a little closer.

Although these birds are quite common and known for scavenging food from tourists there is something quite regal about them and I think the first and last of today's pictures show this in the gull's pose. 

They can make a pretty fearsome noise too and as I focused trying to get a nice close up shot this chap started to screech really loudly. The second and third shots were taken seconds apart as the bird was mid screech. I have slightly cropped the second picture so it is possible to clearly see the speckled eye and the detail around the eye and inside its' mouth. I am really pleased with this particular shot and it shows that even something that may seem common and uninteresting is actually quite beautiful.