American Kestrel

I went down to Ridgefield NWR last Saturday and while the bird activity wasn't great in the time I had, there were some nice opportunities.  This female Kestrel put on quite a show and seemed oblivious to the paparazzi gathered around her.  When I first arrived there was one other photographer that had gotten past her station on one of the ubiquitous "Closed Area" signs and had the advantage of a removable sunroof to aid in shooting.  After awhile she crossed the road and took up a station on this teasel where she hunted for awhile (I missed the flight shots).  After about 15 minutes she moved too far away for decent images but I still saw a traffic jam long after I drove away, so she may have come closer to the road again.

7Dii, Sigma 150-600 C @ 600 mm, balanced on pipe insulation on car window, f/8, 1/500, iso 800, aperture priority, pattern metering, -1/3 EV.  Processed in LR & PS CC.  Cropped to 9.9 MP from a horizontal original.  Taken at 11:23 am on February 10th.

Your comments and critiques are always appreciated.

Thanks,