Wales 2011, Red Kites

Ive been vacationing in Wales the last two weeks. Offcourse i humped along a big bag of photo-gear. In the first week we visited two places where they feed the Red Kite. A beautifull sight to see.

And a heck of a workout with your camera, those birds move fast!!

I took these first three at the Red Kite feeding center in Llanddeusant. It was a very cloudy day with horrible light. Also the place where they dump the found is some sort of an enclosure with a fence, so no good pics of a Red Kite with its claws out that day...









It also didnt help that when i took my backpack out of the car my 7D with 300mm attached bounced on the ground... Along with two extra lenses i had in there... Scared the crap out of me. Always check if the bag is zipped up!! Luckily no harm was done to the equipment.

The other place was Bwlch Nant yr Arian. (Dont try to pronounce that, you'll break your tongue.)

This is an awesome place. Lovely to walk around, and with good views on the feeding. Before the feeding started i took some pics of a mamma-duck with 4 ducklings.



During the feeding they decided they wanted their share of the goodies too! So, in the middle of the mayhem of about 60 kites feeding, mamma duck brought her younglings on the shore...











Last year we were at the same place, and then we witnessed a Kite snatching a duckling... So we thought this wouldnt end well. But! After all the little ducks had enough to eat they all went back in the water. Still... Bad parenting on mamma ducks part, in my opinion...





All of the above were taken with the 7D with 300 F/2.8 IS USM on a tripod with swinghead. (Yes, i brought it along!)


I also took this landscape with the Sigma 10-20mm;



This is the view from the parking lot. Stunning, eh?

Another update soon!