Close to a kestrel

Another view of a kestrel on Hampstead Heath

Technical note: this was not done with a telescopic lens. It was shot with a 50mm lens on a slow film (100 iso) then scanned to high res, blown up and cropped. Hence the detail.

See also : Kestrel in flight and Kestrels on Hampstead Heath

Kestrel in flight

Going through some old paperwork I found a CD of pictures and this is one of them. It was taken a few years ago on Hampstead Heath. As I recall I didn't have time to get an eye to the viewfinder, and took the shot literally from the hip.

Kestrels on Hampstead Heath

I photographed this young male close to the tumulus (sometimes called Boudicca's Mound) just after sunrise a few summers ago. I used it as the cover for my poetry collection.
The poem below is about another occasion.