Sunday, February 1, 2009

Birds in the Morning

I have just been sitting out on my back veranda enjoying a morning 'cuppa'. The Kestrels flew by and apparently disturbed a number of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos that were in the pine tree next door. One kestrel than proceeded to lead the cockatoos on a little game of chase. It flew just ahead of them swooping around the pine tree out and up and around again with four cockatoos in pursuit. It was definitely NOT flying at normal Kestrel speed but was just keeping a few meters ahead. This continued for just long enough for me to step inside and get the camera and take a few quick photos. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough to get the cockatoos and the kestrel in the same photo. The cockatoos got tired of the game first and settled down in the pine tree again while the kestrel then flew off at a quite different speed. Was this one of the juvenile kestrels having fun? None of the birds seemed distressed at all and the cockies were not even screeching. Nice to have a few bird antics to enliven the morning 'cuppa'.
Posted by at
Labels: ,

10 comments:

  1. Tyto TonyFebruary 1, 2009 at 11:53 AM

    Sounds like a bit of juvenile fun, though bird appears to my eye to be moving to less streaking in the breast and thus closer to female maturity. But ... could be three times wrong in one sentence!

    ReplyDelete
  2. mickFebruary 1, 2009 at 12:20 PM

    Hi Tony, I couldn't tell if it was a juvenile or not - but it certainly seemed like one having some fun at the expense of the cockies.

    ReplyDelete
  3. HeidiFebruary 1, 2009 at 12:21 PM

    That Kestrel sure has a gorgeous tail :) That sounds like the show was a lot of fun to watch :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. mickFebruary 1, 2009 at 1:20 PM

    Hi Red, beautiful coloring I agree, and a fun way to start the morning.

    ReplyDelete
  5. DuncanFebruary 1, 2009 at 1:28 PM

    Nice shots Mick, getting your money's worth out of that new Pentax!

    ReplyDelete
  6. mickFebruary 1, 2009 at 1:46 PM

    Thanks Duncan, the best thing about the new camera is that I can actually get birds in flight! I find I am looking at them in an entirely different way - such fascinating colors and patterns under the wings that you don't normally see!

    ReplyDelete
  7. VickieFebruary 1, 2009 at 1:54 PM

    What a wonderful beginning to a day! Beautiful photos of the kestrel in flight.

    ReplyDelete
  8. mickFebruary 1, 2009 at 2:19 PM

    Thanks Vickie

    ReplyDelete
  9. tilcheffFebruary 1, 2009 at 11:27 PM

    Congratulations on the fantastic photos, Mick! I'm sure you're enjoying the DSLR more and more each day.
    Keep making you readers happy with stories and images like these!

    ReplyDelete
  10. mickFebruary 2, 2009 at 4:08 AM

    Thanks Tilcheff, I have a lot to learn yet but I am enjoying the learning process!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)