There is no shortage of red kite shots from Gigrin Farm - indeed, there was another one posted just slightly before this one. I can't help but be amazed how our view of this species has changed over the years that Gigrin has been operational. When I first went, soon after it had opened, a 300mm lens (using film) got distant shots of kites, which I kept in the unlikely hope that I would one day get better.
A few days ago I returned. I used a different 300mm lens, this time on a digital body, and found the birds coming so close that I wished my 150mm had not been left in the car. I seriously thought of cropping this so that you just got the body and could see the tongue in the open mouth, but the quality under the wings is not quite there for that amount of cropping.
It's a shame you didn't go for a touch more DOF given that you were able to get this at 1/2000 and ISO 200.. I think you will have achieved the focus under the wing you were after. Either way, not something I have on file and I would be glad of it so kudos for updating your library.
Brett, depth of field was not the issue. There are strong shadows under the wings, which I removed in processing. Noise in some areas is therefore bad. I will put up the close up view later this evening, which will illustrate the point. I think others have said previously that Gigrin is best visited in early spring, when the sun is lower. I would go along with that viewpoint.
A nice picture David, Did you do a trip around the Elan to try and get some away from Gigrin. Just as a thought how many of you agree that Gigrin has served its purpose and should now close? I was speaking to a local man when in the Elan last week and he says the Kite are a pest, I struggle to believe this but one has to agree that the purpose of Gigrin was initially to give the Kite a kick start upon their route to reintroduction. Now however they are not dispersing as perhaps they should because they know there is a ready food source at the farm. They should be wider spread now than they are, they have spread more widely in other areas of the country. For example Herefordshire, the neighbouring county, has very few Red Kite sightings other than on its immediate border. Surely wiith over 400 Kite visiting Gigrin on occasions they should be very well spread. Has Gigrin just become a cash cow for the farm owner?
I didn't do the Elan valley this time, although I have done it in the past. Strangely enough, the place where I could have done red kites in flight, had I been quick enough, was the M40 service area near Oxford. I also notice another red kite feeding station has opened up along the A40 in Wales, although I did not have time to visit it.
As for them being a 'pest' I also do not agree with that - at least not yet. However, in the Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania black kites have become a pest to picnickers as they will swoop down and steal food out of the hand. If the Welsh kites ever start to do that then I fear that the future of these feeding stations will come into question. I hope it does not happen, as personally I would visit Gigrin for the spectacle of 40-50 kites in the air at once whether I wanted to take pictures or not.
the blue sky and attractive pose gives this image a little extra David, very nice.
I've often wondered how the local environment around Gigrin copes with that density of Kites, but maybe if the majority of the birds' diet is provided by Gigrin they place little strain on their natural sources of food. Either way, the current number of birds in such a small area doesn't strike me as ideal.
Here is the cropped version I referred to earlier. I originally decided against this version because the quality is not quite there, but as I said above, that is not a depth of field issue. I simply decided the crop was too great.
Discussion
8 repliesA few days ago I returned. I used a different 300mm lens, this time on a digital body, and found the birds coming so close that I wished my 150mm had not been left in the car. I seriously thought of cropping this so that you just got the body and could see the tongue in the open mouth, but the quality under the wings is not quite there for that amount of cropping.
So here is yet another red kite shot.
David
Nikon D200, 300mm f2.8 Nikkor, 200 iso, 1/2000th @ f5.0
JOhnR
It's a shame you didn't go for a touch more DOF given that you were able to get this at 1/2000 and ISO 200.. I think you will have achieved the focus under the wing you were after. Either way, not something I have on file and I would be glad of it so kudos for updating your library.
Brett
Colours look great and I think they are fantastic BOP's. I have never been to Gigrin, I have friends in Wales now, so have an excuse to go !!
Regards
Rob
Brett, depth of field was not the issue. There are strong shadows under the wings, which I removed in processing. Noise in some areas is therefore bad. I will put up the close up view later this evening, which will illustrate the point. I think others have said previously that Gigrin is best visited in early spring, when the sun is lower. I would go along with that viewpoint.
David
Brian
I didn't do the Elan valley this time, although I have done it in the past. Strangely enough, the place where I could have done red kites in flight, had I been quick enough, was the M40 service area near Oxford. I also notice another red kite feeding station has opened up along the A40 in Wales, although I did not have time to visit it.
As for them being a 'pest' I also do not agree with that - at least not yet. However, in the Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania black kites have become a pest to picnickers as they will swoop down and steal food out of the hand. If the Welsh kites ever start to do that then I fear that the future of these feeding stations will come into question. I hope it does not happen, as personally I would visit Gigrin for the spectacle of 40-50 kites in the air at once whether I wanted to take pictures or not.
David
I've often wondered how the local environment around Gigrin copes with that density of Kites, but maybe if the majority of the birds' diet is provided by Gigrin they place little strain on their natural sources of food. Either way, the current number of birds in such a small area doesn't strike me as ideal.
Matt
David