Male American Kestrel with huge meal

[David Hemmings]

I watched this AK drop to the meadow from his perch and come back up with a vole that probably weighs about the same as the Kestrel. He had a heck of a time flying with this in his talons but was very determined. He proceeded to dine, head first:eek:

Canon 1D MK 111 / Canon 500 f4 IS + 1.4 tc / 1/2500th @ f8 ISO 250 / handheld

http://avianart.smugmug.com/photos/472503481_qVwsm-O.jpg

[Randy Stout]

David:

Very nice, sharp, beautifully exposed, nice look back, the vole and back story add a lot. The sky is complimentary to the birds plumage.

Thanks so much for sharing this beauty!

Randy

[Rod Wiley]

Very well done

[Tim Kuhn]

Beautiful image, as noted the sky goes so well with the colors of the bird. Nice sharp subject, great color and some out of the ordinary behavior.

Tim

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Wow love this one David. Great pose, detail , lighting and eye contact as well as tac sharp. Congratulations on a fine capture.

[Dave Mills]

David...Couldn't ask for better...wonderful image!!

[Raymond Barlow]

nice shot David,.. sharp as all heck!

[Bonnie Block]

Beautiful, David. Love the look-back pose with a vole about as big as the bird itself!

[Grady Weed]

This says sharp! Clean blue sky adds but would work with any sky. The side pose is very nice. I might clone the right short branch out, but I usually do not clone anything. So nice as is.

[Ramon M. Casares]

Very nice image, great pose and detail, lovely colors and comp. Congratulaitons!

[Graham Smith.]

Great Shot. love the colours on this one!

[Dave Shaw]

Excellent shot, what a lovely bird. I'd love to see some of the gruesome follow-up shots to this...

Dave Shaw
www.wildimagephoto.com

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey David,
Because i can't add much to the above......just wanted to add my WOW!!! Love the action/story! I'm a huge fan of nature at its cruelest/normal....depends on your perspective. All the tech aspects are there....all the comp aspects are there...just sweet!

[Art Kornienko]

A little softer light might have been nice but thats a small pick, quite stunning David, great work.

[Ron Day]

Excellent work, David! Amazing detail!