Le Teich (3)

Continued from Le Teich (2) ...

This blog is devoted to one individual bird  –  a Red Kite.

Eye-contact established

Which way is front?

Thinks

Where?

What?

It's here somewhere

That looks better

Ready, steady, ...

Unfortunately, my arc of vision was severely restricted to the right and that's the direction from which the wind was blowing.  When the bird took off, the best I could manage was ...

... go!

... and I couldn't follow it round for any better-composed images.  (It would also have been useful to have had a faster shutter-speed.  The exif data for this image is 1/400s, f8, ISO 200, EC = -0.33, FL = 400mm.)

I found myself with teaching responsibilities during this photo-shoot.  A young French family came into the hide  –  father, mother, child in pushchair, and 2 boys aged about 10-12.  The boys (the elder in particular) were mad keen about birds.  Black Kite is fairly common there, but Red Kite is not listed in the information in the hide and the elder boy turned to me for help!  He asked if it was a (Common) Kestrel  –  "Monsieur, ... ...?"  (Why is it that, when you have a long lens, people assume you know all about the birds?)  Luckily, my knowledge both of the species and the relevant French in this instance was up to the task.  Phew!  Later, outside the hide, the parents were greatly amused when I told them that I'd felt very conscious about getting my vowel-sounds right when describing the bird for the boys.  I hadn't wanted to confuse them with reference to a Parisian hot-spot!  (viz. the bird was not the more familiar milan noir, but a milan rouge – called in French un milan royal.)