Escher’s Eleven: back to my favourite cliff run yesterday, for a downhill-only loop (I pretend not to notice the climb up Sheepcote Valley, having run it so much 😁). I stopped for 10 minutes just to observe this guy, just 5m from me and totally focused on his prey. A kestrel’s ability to stop in the air and adjust while keeping their head still is awesome. #Brighton#nature#kestrel#running
His wings hold all creation in a weightless quiet
Steady as a hallucination in the streaming air.
-- Ted Hughes
from ‘The Hawk in the Rain: Poems’, 1957
Our local Master of the Wind came calling yesterday.
As the smallest of raptors, the kestrel reminds us that:
It is no small thing to live one’s own life.
#Kestrel #Windhover #Australian #Wildlife #Birds #Poetry #Philosophy #BirdScrolling #CoastalNSW
Had a meet-up with this pretty Kestrel at a local park. He kept looking over his shoulder and then flew off. Then I saw the crow in the next tree over...
More exciting nature encounters today. We see kestrels often by the lakeside, but never as close as this one sitting on the fencing to the new development.
Even though they’re the most common falcon in North America, I’ve only seen this small bird a handful of times in the many years I’ve been photographing so I was very happy to catch this one perched on a lichen covered branch. These little fellas can reach speeds of up to 40mph flying flat or 50mph when diving.