Another competition from @nelinoeva for which many thanks to her.
And the theme of this week was - BIRDS IN FLIGHT.
Contest rules here
The black kite (Milvus migrans)
I took this photo from the top of the bank near the river. There are always a lot of these birds over the river, they catch fish there, looking out from a height. Seeing the fish, they dive down and pull the fish right from the surface of the water.
The mallard or wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos)
This is a photo from flooded steppe meadows. There you can often see ducks resting before a long journey.
The northern shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
This photo is also from those flooded meadows. The ducks are quite shy here, so getting close to them through the bushes is not an option. And you can only photograph them flying.
The grey heron (Ardea cinerea)
This photo shows how I always see herons. Alas, so far I have not been able to take high-quality pictures of these birds. They immediately fly away as soon as they see that I am approaching them.
The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)
On that day, I could not take a picture of a cuckoo sitting on a tree. The difficulty is that the meadow is full of tall grass, and there are only two trees that are very far from each other. And the cuckoo was constantly moving between them, so I was only able to take a photo in flight.
The common tern (Sterna hirundo)
Walking along the river bank in summer, you can see how these graceful birds fly over the river, and then suddenly hang in the air. This is how they look for fish. If they spot prey, they dive in after it.
The ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea)
This duck was flying at a very low altitude from the river surface. For the first time I met this species of ducks in my city.
