{"id":43299,"date":"2016-11-05T06:28:36","date_gmt":"2016-11-05T12:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=43299"},"modified":"2016-11-05T06:34:48","modified_gmt":"2016-11-05T12:34:48","slug":"male-american-kestrel-at-takeoff-and-in-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/05\/male-american-kestrel-at-takeoff-and-in-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Male American Kestrel At Takeoff And In Flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Because of their small size and quickness kestrels are the most challenging raptor I attempt to photograph at takeoff. Typically I clip or cut off body parts or get nothing but “air shots”. But yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA I had better luck.<\/p>\n

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\"american-kestrel-1130b-ron-dudley\"1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I found this beautiful male enjoying a snack (what was left of a large insect – perhaps a grasshopper) atop a rusty old gravel separator at the refuge. When he finished his meal I hoped he would take off to my right and my reflexes would be fast enough to get the entire bird in frame, although I didn’t have high hopes of success\u00a0because I’d failed so many times before.<\/p>\n

These are tense situations for me. I often feel like I’m a coiled spring with my finger depressing the shutter button like a hair trigger and waiting, often for a\u00a0very long time, for the bird to take off. And when it eventually does my reflexes are usually too slow or the bird takes off in the wrong direction. Or both.<\/p>\n

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\"american-kestrel-1152b-ron-dudley\"1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

But this time things worked out. The kestrel launched in about the best direction possible, the light is pretty good, I like the wing position and the stretched-out feet, there’s light in the eye and the bird is sharp.<\/p>\n