Nothing very special for Reading, but they were pretty much flying directly towards the sun, so giving a decent photo. And I adore photos of Red Kites, so you have to suffer another one too!
Amazing shot of the face
this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2025
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Cool! I see them all the time where I live in the Black Forest but I'm never fast enough.
Because I've watched them so much, I'm familiar with their flight patterns (loosely, a lazy horizontal corkscrew, a lazy half straight glide, and then a determined "I want to get there" flight - oh, and a circling up on thermals which is a "no hoper" for photos) - with those I find it much easier now to predict and track their flight. Though a good lens and auto-focus obviously helps a lot!
When I see them near my house they're usually trying to dodge the kestrels, who do NOT appreciate their presence.
It's been a little while since I've seen kestrels - here, the Kites get chased off by Jackdaws and Crows, though I'm pretty sure sometimes the Kites deliberately provoke them first to have a bit of fun.
Nice shot. Light on the face is just perfect.
Great capture! What lense were you using?
Oops - the one time I forgot to add it!
Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800mm lens (at full extension) - ISO800, F/9, 1/1250s So, umm, not the cheapest of setups :)
Great pic. Miss seeing them since I moved to Glasgow. They were getting to be a common sight in Bedfordshire.
Well, there are Scottish release & feeding stations (I've been to the Galloway one), and they are happy in urban environments, it shouldn't be more than a few years before you're seeing them in Glasgow!