Square-tailed Kite

A friend of mine and I found this nest after a tip-off from local birdwatchers in the Blue Mountains of NSW, Australia. The Square-tailed Kite are one of the less common local raptors that have a surprising tolerance of humans. I could often sit within 20m of an adult. Luckily, it is known that the same pair of these wonderful kites have nested here for over four years now. They have just returned to patch up the nest for another spring affair. It is my very, very favorite image of this species and while I wish the second young kite were facing in my direction, I still love it and it's my most published photo to date too.

I borrowed a 1DMkIII and 500mm for this shot.
Exif: 1DMkIII, 500/4L IS + 2x, ISO640, f/8, 1/320th, tripod, 0 EC, 85% of original image. I must confess that while I prefer not to be too romantic with the clone tool and its other friends, I did remove a branch that was growing out or the parent's head, which I feel enhanced the image in this instance.