There is a hill close to where I live. Once there was a vineyard, but all the vines were uprooted. No idea why. The winery still stands there and they use the grapes from other places. Now,the hill is left to the grass and the shrubs to take over. Stone stairs lead to the top and it was about time to explore the hill in search of some new birds.
First we climbed with hubby and the dog, but Penny could not walk and hubby carried her most of the time. It was bloody hot and we did not stay much longer. There were not many birds as I was espected. But the view was great from the top. The town, the sea and the lake are spread beneath.
I am not good in landscapes. This is just the beginning of something I am going to work on it. Besides I got not the right lens. I should have brought the kit lens. My excuse was that most likely it would be misty, hazy, which actually wasn't. My aim was to look for birds.
I thought to go another day eatlier and alone. So, the next day I was up early. It was a holiday and I had a day off. Took a bottle of water, camera and off I went.
To my great disappointment no birds can be seen, except for the seagulls and the swifts. I tried to make at least one decent photo of a swift. They got their names for a reason. They are sooo fast. The only advantage I had, the wind, did not help a lot. Although the wind slowed down the flight of the swift. Well, this is all I got.
The sky was clear and my hope to see some raptors faded. So I took some photos of a plane taking off from the near airport.
Still, we do not expect the same traffic in the air like before pandemic, but slowly the planes begin to reestablish their regular flights.
Another plane from the previous day. Turkish airlines, this must be the flight to Istanbul.
The walk on the hill appeared to be pleasant even without the birds. There were many butterflies, but I will keep their photos for another post.
There was some noise coming from the shrubs, but I could not see the birds, nor could get closer because of the high grass. There could be snakes. I am more concerned about the ticks though.
So, you may wonder why I post in Feathered Friends and having just a swift by far. Wait and see.
Downhill there is supermarket where I was going to buy some supplies. It has already become hot and about time to go home. Next to the shop I put the camera back in my bag and I heard it, the kestrel call. Looked above and a seagull and the kestrel were close to the block of flats and the raptor sneak between the bars on the facade.
The building is just across the street and I took the camera out and got a shot.
Do you see the bird? It is too far and my eyes could be cheating. It could well be a pigeon I thought to myself. I had to go close, I crossed the street and kept on shooting just in front of the entrance. Still, to see better what it is I have to crop the images, so here you can see, the marvelous kestrel, standing still on the top floor and watching the world by from above.
I always wanted to photograph birds of prey, not only flying as we see a lot of them on daily basis - kestrels, hawks, buzzards, eagles. Usually they fly too high. I wish to see it close and standing or perching and not very far. What a luck to be on the right spot at the right time. If I didn't hear it, I would not notice it and never would think to look there.
I stayed maybe 10 or 15 minutes watching the bird. The kestrel did not budge.
Such a perfect place to observe the domain. High enough, not quite visible.
A man saw me taking photos and said that the kestrels were living in their block for 15 years, generation after generation. How amazing is that.
Until now I knew next to nothing about kestrels. It is time to learn something new. What I found out is that it is not unusual for them to live in buildings, like this one and to coexist with humans for so long. What do they eat? Perhaps the hill provides some of the food as I read their main diet consists of voles, mice, shrews. But they also can feed on bats (there are some in our neighbourhood), lizzards, small birds and worms and insects. Like any other raptor they have sharp eyesight. Kestrels detect the prey from a sky by hovering and tney have the ability to see the urine trails left by rodents, becuase they have the ability of seeing ultraviolet light.
Kestrels are relatively small - the length of the body is 30-35 cm. The wingspan is 70-78 cm. Male kestrels got grey heads or caps, while female - brown. By the look of the head this kestrel must be female.
Now, knowing where the kestrel lives, I will be spending more time time there watching it.
I will end with photo of another kestrel, I saw flying above the center of Sofia, our capital. Again, it was the call I heard first and after that I saw the bird.
And this is the end of my little adventure up and down the hill. It won't be the last. There is still much more to explore in the surroundings and I hope to find other inetersting birds to show.
Till next time.
Have a wonderful day! Stay safe!
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