Der Turmfalke

Or "the kestrel".

So I was sitting in my office quietly programming away when, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of colour. There's a kestrel and a buzzard that I often see from my desk, and normally, they're just flying around.

Today though, this one landed on a building about 100 metres away and was very animated. Camera straight out of the bag and took as many pictures as possible. It's not easy to get pictures when things are that far away and you're on full zoom. Or rather, it's not easy to get sharp pictures without a tripod.

It's quite a gory collection that I took. Suffice to say I've got a few where the tail is disappearing but they are a bit fuzzy.

I've never seen a kestrel after it has caught something. It was fascinating to watch in a "Gulp-eurgh" sort of way. I can tell you nothing was wasted.

This is probably on the borders of acceptability if you go large. But like I said, it was a 100 metres away and I had no tripod. I'm quite thrilled by it.