I'm still ploughing through the shots I took at Gigrin Farm last week. This is another red kite looking very much as though it's head is on upside down !

The kites have a very distinctive dive for food, from a horizontal glide they will spot their target and twist and drop straight down in a vertical dive, pulling out at the last moment, skimming the floor and grabbing the food to take it up and eat it in flight. The reason the head is 'backwards' is the bird has just gone 'beak down' into a dive and is about to rotate the body and go partly back the way it came, whilst in the dive. The head twists first so that the kite doesn't need to take it's eye off the food. A fraction of a second later, the bird is right way round again. The two thumbnails show the next two shots in the sequence (shot at 5 frames per second, if you want to get an idea of the agility of these magnificent flyers). Clicking on either thumbnail will take you to the larger version of the shot, in my 'red kites & buzzards' gallery. This sequence is at the start of the gallery, so puts you in the right place to explore lots more shots of these awesome birds.

I am always glad to receive any comments, good or bad, all feedback is appreciated so please leave a comment if you can spare a moment. Thanks.