Juv. White Tail Kite

D300s
600mm w/ 1.4 tc
1/2000
Aperture priority
Exposure comp -2/3
F/8
Metering Mode Pattern
White Balance Sunny
ISO 400
Distance 21.10 meters Almost full frame (very slightly cropped)
Tripod w/Wiberly head

Taken a while back this juvenile white tail kite was from a third clutch (apparently if there is lots of readily available food the kites will have up to 3 clutches per year although one clutch is the norm)and had only been flying for two days when I captured this. He would always come to the same tree branch to eat so I just set up there and waited for him. His sibling did the same thing. It was easy pickins for sure. They were not the least bit afraid of me and I was able to get as close as I wanted. The vole is kind of gory looking but I like the heads up, intense look on the kites face. The cropped wings don't bother me at all in fact I really like the wings cropped in this shot but don't know if you agree with me. The juveniles are very colorful compared to the adults which are mostly all white with bright red eyes. I witnessed their first flight which was absolutely hysterical. They would jump in the air high enough to catch some air with their talons straight down and glide awkwardly down to a stick up. Talons dangling down the entire time, they would scream out as if the world was ending and sort of crash onto a branch. Very funny to watch. They were doing mid air food exchanges with dad two days later and this particular kite caught his first vole after only 1 week. His sibling struggled to keep up and I never did see it catch it's own food. Very fast learners and a joy to watch. Hope you like this one. More to come. Please see larger file for critique. Thanks for looking!