Birds of Prey....Your Pictures Wanted!

Three day since posting the four kestrel juveniles in the local valley about to fledge and a visit down there today showed two had taken the plunge. Further up the valley in a nesting box three more youngsters are seriously thinking about it.

Hard to follow Bob's superb photos of Kestrels.

Distance shots of a Black headed gull mobbing a Buzzard. Personally, I've never seen this before.

The gull used the classic arial combat manoeuvre of climb high and dive on your target. It made several passes at the buzzard.

Firstly, three cropped shots.

Now uncropped.

Fabulous photos SnappyMac. Gorgeous detail... thank you for sharing these with us

Thanks :) Over so quickly but looking forward to seeing them nest next year and in the meantime hopefully will get some photos of the new kestrels around the valley.

Edited: Alas, my reputation of not being able to identify birds continues. Expert consensus is that I photographed a Kestrel.  While somewhat crestfallen at not seeing a Peregrine, I am quite elated at the photographs I managed and of learning new facts about Kestrels - I didn't know they like riding thermals.

As for the lady rambler: She probably thought quietly: 'Him fick. Him not bird watcher, can't tell difference between Kestrel and Peregrine.' 

I had just finished my weekly look-see at restoration progress of Manor farm, was hoofing it back to my car at MGLG car park, when I spotted a Red Kite being harassed by a bird of prey (which I assumed was another Red Kite) over the paddock by the car park. Whipped out camera for a Red Kite rumble photo opportunity...only it turned out that said harasser was a Peregrine Falcon.

Conditions were not perfect (bright to grey cloud, intermittent sunshine) but far better than the light rain and heavy cloud predicted for a week by forecasters.

The Peregrine, unfortunately, was not close, and it decided to climb up a thermal. My R7 locked onto the bird, and I tried frantically to keep it in frame as it circled ever higher. Results are heavily cropped and post-processed, to give middling images - though dead pleased to have seen and photographed a peregrine falcon in flight. I think this is the fourth time I've seen one on Moor Green Lakes or Manor farm part of nascent Longwater road nature reserve.

Oh, as one doesn't often get an opportunity like this, I dutifully clicked away like crazy.

The beastie was beginning one of its circles up the thermal.

Note heavy duty lightening of photo.

I didn't realise Peregrine falcons flared their tails like this.

I quite like this next photo uncropped. My lens was at 562mm (and not 600mm). Not sure why, but I did open it up to 600mm later on, as the bird got ever higher.

However, if we crop out the bird

The beastie was gaining height, making even smudgy photos difficult. Remainder uncropped.

I managed quite a few further photos, but by now the bird was so high up all I got basically were silhouettes. Soon I gave up, as it was like trying to photograph a Skylark, trilling away, high up in the sky.

A lady rambler asked me what I'd seen. She was thrilled when I told her Peregrine falcon, and even more thrilled when it glided, high up, across the sky, then swooped down to the paddock, before veering eastwards and flying off. Two people, pleased as punch.

I think that's a kestrel rather than a peregrine falcon?
(hence the spread tail)

Also you can see in the first couple of photos that the back is a more orange colour

Oh dear, have I blown it again?

I thought it might have been a juvenile Peregrine. They have brownish backs, which in certain light and angles could look orangey brown.

In so far as you can trust the accuracy of t'internet, I have found quite a few photos claiming to be Peregrines with flared tail feathers.

Anyway, here's a close up of it's face - as far as my grainy photos can achieve. I was kind of going on the big black marks on the bird's cheeks to sort of push me in the direction of a Peregrine. Kestrels have them, but these look more pronounced, as if forming the more bold, bigger markings of an adult.

Over to the experts.

I'm no expert but looking at images online it looks like peregrines don't have that black tail stripe with whiter tips, however it is something that is common in kestrels