So many times when these raptors hover, they are facing away from me, the light isn’t right, and/or they are too far away. On this day I was in a pretty good place at the right time. This is a profile hover shot of an American Kestrel as it scans the grasses below for any movement by rodents and other small creatures. I’d say this small raptor was about 30 feet off the ground and around 50-60 feet from me. Ridgefield NWR, Feb. 13, 2015.
Canon 7D Mark II, 1/2000, f5.6, ISO 400, 700mm (500+1.4x), 12:35 p.m.
