ML63345991

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

I had just gotten home and was unloading groceries and I heard an unfamiliar call. I looked up and there were three Swallow-tailed Kites circling around overhead. A storm was blowing up and the kites were dancing around in the air. I was making such a racket gushing about them that one flew in for a closer look at me. I was on the deck and it couldn't have been more that 12 feet overhead. I thanked it profusely afterwards and ran to get the camera and chased them as they circled the yard overhead. They stayed for almost 10 minutes. I'm glad I got pictures as I did not know this was a rarity for my little neighborhood. It was wonderful. Two of the kites seemed smaller and I was wondering if they might be juveniles. I thought the wind was just giving them a fit but upon reading up on the birds this was hunting behavior. I have previously only seen them soaring high above. This was really a neat thing to see.

Technical information

Model

NIKON D3100

ISO

400

Focal length

0 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/0.0

Shutter speed

1/125 sec

Dimensions

1895 pixels x 1263 pixels

Original file size

139.84 KB