American Kestrel on a less-than-ideal perch

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

40D. 400 f5.6L wide-open. iso 400. 1/1600s. evaluative metering +1. I was set up for flight shot which I never got. cropped from horizontal. Early morning light.

I know the perch is not very nice...but this is where they perch at this location. Lots of such small poles there. At least the thicknes is okay and it has some character. I rarely get any raptor shots at eye-level :-)....so I was thrilled with this a lot.

[Arthur Morris]

I like the image design and the nice lady kestrel. The merge of the bill tip with the body is not ideal either :)

Tell me about the place and I may be able to help.

[DeanNewman]

Taking a page out of my Alan Murphy songbird photography CD, why not zip tie an attrative branch to the top of one of these metal poles for a perch?

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Thx Artie. Here is another one with no bill merge. Same perch but I flipped it horizontally.



about the area....it is a huge piece of land that has been marked for some housing development. Streets and street lights( lots of them) have already been laid out...and these temporary fences like the perch in the shot. its an ideal place for raptors( I always see cooper's, kestrel and red-tailed there)...very open with lots of vantage points. But its not ideal for shooting as they always perch on these...there is nothing natural to perch on other than ground. Since no one goes there, they are very skittish too. And they always take off and fly away from me :-)

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Taking a page out of my Alan Murphy songbird photography CD, why not zip tie an attrative branch to the top of one of these metal poles for a perch?

Thx for the tip. I've been thinking of that. Problem is that there are literally thousands of these and they dont seem to prefer any particular one :-) What they actually prefer more are the big&tall street lights.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Everything but the perch looks great. The extra bill separation on the repost is better. I have nothing on this species yet so I would be happy to have taken this photo had I had the opportunity.

[Paul Guris]

I'm going to stick my highly amateur nose into this one and disagree with the opinion that the perch is a problem. If this was a brand new shiny post, or a piece of orange construction fence, I'd be with you. Instead, it's a rusty and neglected fence post. I think it's actually more interesting (though certainly less natural) than a dead branch. It reminds me somewhat of photos I've seen with birds perched on rusted barbed wire. The feel I get isn't quite so strong barbed wire, but I still like it.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks KD. If you note a small area that they seem to frequent, you could try putting some perches up as Dean mentioned. Barring that there is always the pet store mouse in the glass globe trick if you are OK with that.

[Arthur Morris]

I'm going to stick my highly amateur nose into this one and disagree with the opinion that the perch is a problem. If this was a brand new shiny post, or a piece of orange construction fence, I'd be with you. Instead, it's a rusty and neglected fence post. I think it's actually more interesting (though certainly less natural) than a dead branch. It reminds me somewhat of photos I've seen with birds perched on rusted barbed wire. The feel I get isn't quite so strong barbed wire, but I still like it.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Most of the folks here (including me) would prefer a natural perch to a man made one, even one with a bit of character like this rusty one (but that does not make anyone right or wrong) :)

[John Guastella]

Barring that there is always the pet store mouse in the glass globe trick if you are OK with that.

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're joking, Artie. I hope people would not seriously consider this. It is animal abuse, pure and simple...

John

[Arthur Morris]

John, I have not done it but know of others who have. And I might very well try it. Not to mention the routine practices of the folks who band raptors. BTW, nothing ever happens to the mouse which remains inside the globe. BTW, feeding pet store mice to wintering northern owls is a common practice. Images created by doing that with Snowy Owls are routinely posted here on BPN. As for animal abuse, some would argue that you are going down a slippery; do you eat burgers? How about fishing? Or baiting herons with live baitfish? What about feeding meal worms to bluebirds? A very slippery slope indeed.

I am not trying to tell you what is right or wrong for you, just trying to open your eyes. BTW, what is the purpose of a pet store mouse?

[John Guastella]

Artie, although I welcome a discussion about the ethics of various bird enticement techniques, I don't want to hijack Kaustubh's thread (and distract forum members from appreciating his fine Kestrel images) by having the discussion here. I probably would not have even commented on your suggestion if it had not come from someone with your stature and influence in the field of bird photography. Perhaps one of the other BPN forums (maybe the General Photography Forum?) is a better place to talk about this.

John

[Arthur Morris]

Go for it. Feel free to quote me from Pane #s 9 and 11 and send me a link if you do start a thread. Yes, General Photography would be perfect. I am fairly sure that the road has been well traveled here before but heck, there are lots of new folks around. Such discussions invariably get heated but I have never been one to shy away from controversy.

[Bhushan Dalvi]

KD, this is a fine image. As Artie pointed out except for the unnatural post and the beak merging with the body the first picture looks great. I would prefer the second one over the first one just for that fact even the HA is not as pleasing as the first one.:cheers:

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

KD
Nice image and I don't mind the bill merge. But sure, it can be better. Regarding the perch, I have a similar situation close to home where small raptors often perch along the side of the road on fence posts and taller star posts. I attached two perches about two weeks ago and as of Friday, I have began to see Kestrels perching on one. I have only managed to take an image from a long way away, as I was in a spot near their nest in a tree hollow, but could not help myself in feeling a sense of achievement. I have attached a rather average image, but it illustrates what has been said in this discussion. I think the higher perches will be more attractive as they give the raptors more elevation, thus a larger area they can scan. :)

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Thx a ton, Akos. I should try out something like this.

Thx everyone for all the feedback..always appreciated.