I was visiting the family home in a town 200 kilometres south of Perth for a couple of days. Black-shouldered Kites are frequently seen in the small patch of coastal dunes between the family home and the ocean and I confirmed to family members that I am indeed a bit odd by zig-zagging around the scrubby dunes with a camera to get some shots of this pair. On the power lines to begin with.
What a beautiful bird, Margaret.
Beautiful bird!
Good shot! We have Mississippi Kites around here. I used to have a pair that nested in my back yard for years. They can be a real nuisance when they nest. Some golf courses around here are popular nesting sites and the kites often dive-bomb people if they get near their nest. Mine never did that.
One year a Red-tailed hawk ate the baby kites. I understand the ways and balance of nature, but sometimes it's just not fun to watch.
Gorgeous shot Margaret...great to see you posting also! Well done!
Sorry about the delay between first and second postings. My mouse died (probably at the sight of the Kite). I won't go into the details of trying to resuscitate the mouse, but I was panicking and cursing.
As I ran around the dunes like a woman possessed, I got a few inflight shots as well.
RDR, I know what you mean about the harshness of nature and never is it more evident than with raptors.
Not the sharpest shot, but it shows the black shoulder from which it gets its name.
...
Both birds were hunting at the same time and each caught a mouse within half a minute of each other. They've obviously got pretty good appetites because when I first saw them on the power lines, I could see blood on the under tail coverts of one and also on its claws. They had no sooner finished eating what was quite a substantial meal and they recommenced hunting.
Just finished eating.
Last one.
Excellent shots Margaret!!!
Their a beautiful raptor!
Stunning photograpy!
I agree, simply stunning Margaret!!
Breathtaking photos of a gorgeous bird. I love that black on the eye. Wow!!
Yes that's a nice set of shots
Great shots Margaret. I hope you are going to add some of them to our BirdFiles page: http://davesgarden.com/guides/birdfiles/go/938/
those are beautiful. Do they go to Antarctica (since they are all white?)
Great shots! What a pretty bird!
What a stunning looking bird. Wonderful photography.
Thanks for your comments folks. I've added a few to the bird files, Kennedy.
