Common Kestrel Male in its prime

Last time we went to Hesserghatta near Bangalore, we got our very first images of the Common Kestrel (Female). You can view that post here. This time around we were fortunate to photograph many bird species, thanks to getting there on time. And one of the prized images was that of the Common Kestrel (Male).

The secret to getting close to wild birds in completely open habitat is to ensure that the bird is aware of you and has got used to your presence. They have to think you to be part of their habitat or at least see no threat from you. So once you have spotted your subject; get to within 100 feet of it, switch off your vehicle engine and just wait for a while (15 mins in this case). Then slowly inch forward till you are about 15-20 feet of the bird. A wild raptor will rarely allow you anywhere closer than that.

Here are a set of images of the Handsome Common Kestrel (Male) taken from about 20 feet in an open habitat. All images were taken handheld with D300, Nikon 300mm f2.8 lens with 2x TC (600mm focal length) using the car window as support. All images are almost full frame and cropped for composition.

This image was taken at f/8, 1/1000s, -0.7EV, ISO 200. This image was taken at f/5.6, 1/1000s, 0EV, ISO 200.This image was taken at f/8, 1/800s, -0.7EV, ISO 200. This image was taken at f/11, 1/640s, -1.0EV, ISO 200. This image was taken at f/8, 1/800s, -0.7EV, ISO 200.Pl. note that we have made some changes to our blog to reduce the time it takes to load. This includes removing the music, minimizing other links and the blog roll. However, we have subscribed to all the blog feeds to stay updated with your latest posts. You will also find us in your follower list if you have enabled one.