During the last few weeks I have been hunting for new subjects, which are rather hard to find at this time of year.
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But somehow something always seems to turn up, as it did on this occasion.
And what a pleasant surprise - Black Shouldered Kites with chicks that have left the nest.
This was unusual for this time of year. In our area they are winter breeders but it is usually August before we see the chicks.
There were three chicks close together waiting for breakfast to arrive, and it did not take long before the parents arrived with food.
Black shouldered Kites feed on small mammals, birds, reptiles and insects.
They can often be seen hovering before diving on their prey, very similar in habits to Australian Kestrels.
Their nest is usually very high in trees, and they will defend it aggressively.
If you are careful though, you can get very close to them – as was the case with this brood. They looked as if they would stay on the limbs for some time so I set up the camera on a tripod focusing on the chicks.
I did not have long to wait before the next tucker arrived and there was a scramble to see who would get the lion’s share.
All this activity meant that photographing them was a straight forward job, 100-400 lens available light which was good, and making sure I was well positioned.
I also had to make sure the shutter speed was good enough to freeze the subjects.
In the end I ended up with some nice shots and came away happy.
Black Shouldered Kites are medium to small raptors (birds of prey), and quite distinctive by their black shoulders.
They are are mostly pale grey above, with a pure white head, body and tail and black shoulders.
Strangely, wale Black Shouldered Kites feed females in mid-air during courtship.
The female flips upside-down and accepts the food from the male, while the two birds are locked briefly together in flight with their feet holding the prey.
Some Black Shouldered Kites nest twice in one season, so maybe I’ll be fortunate again soon.