On the Wing

Went again the the Andover Hawk Conservancy Trust today, easily one of my favourite ways to spend a Saturday or Sunday. Weather wasn't particularly great for photographing birds, and I had a number of technical problems with my kit (battery grip kept telling me the batteries were dead when they were full, and the OS on my 120-400 playing up) but I was chuffed to bits with this shot.

This was shot in the second of three flying displays they do daily at the Hawk Conservancy. The highlight of the second display is the mass flight of Kites and Vultures, it's just a pleasure to watch these magnificent animals flying so freely overhead and - frequently - right over the crowd. Towards the end of the display, of course, the birds have to be fred - it's only fair. To feed the Kites, they throw the food in to the air which the Kites not only catch in mid-air, but eat on the wing. This is one of those kites enjoying a well-deserved meal.