I got this photo of an elusive American Kestrel near the entrance to Spring Creek Park here in San Angelo, Texas. As I drove up, it was high on a wire off to the right side of my car. I stopped and contemplated how I would get the shot. I couldn’t shoot out the passenger side from where I was sitting in the driver’s seat. I was worried that it would fly off any second. I decided to take a chance. I drove slowly forward a couple hundred feet and made a U-turn and came back. Miraculously, it was still there. I was shaking as I slowly aimed my Canon EOS 7D with 500mm lens and 1.4 tele-converter out the window, supporting it with my Noodle. I was able to fire off a half dozen exposures before he flew. I failed to get the take-off, but I did get this handsome image.
There were many birds around that morning and I also came up with another shot of a Western Meadowlark.
The meadowlark was beneath a tree along with several of it’s friends, and the lighting was tricky.
Both images are cropped heavily. The kestrel was about 35 feet off the ground and probably a total of about 150 feet away. The meadowlark was perhaps about 60 feet away on the ground. Feel free to click on either image to see an enlargement.
Texas Tweeties by Bob Zeller 