Birds of Prey....Your Pictures Wanted!

Male kestrel hiding amongst the leaves.

Nice one Bob ;-)

Thanks Linda. My favourite bird/animal by far. Beautiful and smart.... I never bore of watching them.

Oh I am partial to as Kestrel aswell Bob...I have been treated to a Kestrel Show many times at my local late in the afternoon...even better when it was only us there watching it ;-)

Never have too many Kestrel Bob,alway good value for entertainment

Such a beautiful picture! Well done!!
Think I need to get a new camera!! Lol

I just have the bridge camera which has lasted me the last 7 years. Finally moving on up to a Mirrorless next month (well that's the plan) and start learning with a "proper" camera. I do like the bridge as I enjoy my walks and it's light but I think it's time I start to try and get a few better photos of what I'm lucky enough to see.

Sorry for somewhat wee size of Marsh Harrier. My lens was at 600mm. However, the reeds this harrier was hunting over are some 100m from the footpath I am standing on. The intervening area is basically a building site as Cemex restores the area to be a nature reserve. Once finished (next year), the reed will start much nearer footpaths e.g. 20m.

At least two Marsh Harriers have been spotted during the past two months in and around the Moor Green Lakes nature reserve, and (here) the nascent Longwater road nature reserve. The birds were female, which (I believe) increases the chances of them over wintering. The reserves are in south Berkshire between Eversley, Yateley and FInchampstead - some five miles south of Wokingham.

The grasslands in these photos occupy the north east part of the Manor Farm part of the nascent reserve. It was fully restored some seven years ago. Plenty of ground nesting birds (e.g. Skylarks, Lapwing) and a Barn Owl.

In this photo, the bird is flying west to a recently restored part of the site. The harrier really is in this photo, right in the middle. I was surprised to even get a halfway decent photo of the beastie, seeing how cluttered the background is. 

Finally, the Marsh Harrier was mobbed by the local murder of crows. I last saw it drifting over to the Fleet Hill farm part of the nascent reserve, which was fully restored some three years ago.

One of many Buzzards around Finchampstead, Wokingham, Eversley, etc. This one happened to glide over the nascent Longwater road nature reserve on the same day I photographed a Peregrine falcon.