ITAP of a rare Lesser Kestrel

Image from preview.redd.it and submitted by ks_wild20
image showing ITAP of a rare Lesser Kestrel

ks_wild20 on May 15th, 2022 at 14:39 UTC »

This is a male Lesser Kestrel, a bird that breeds in Central Asia and winters over to Africa. It sometimes winters in India as well, but it is quite rare here.

I was lucky enough to spend a few hours observing and photographing this lovely bird a few months ago from extreme close quarters - just me and this bird in an enormous grassy habitat. The Kestrel was just a couple of feet from me, and bold unlike any other! He literally couldn't care less about my presence and carried on with his daily activities, unbothered about anything at all. He just sat on a rock for quite some time in the late afternoon sun, looking here and there. After relaxing for a bit, he put on his hunting shoes and started running in the moist grass looking for insects! It was amusing and amazing to see him run around catching insects. He sprinted head-on towards me once-twice, as if he was charging to knock me out. That did scare me for a spilt second, but he came extremely close and caught an insect.

What a great experience to watch this from so close, as if it was my own pet bird!

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firstdueengine on May 15th, 2022 at 16:32 UTC »

Great catch! It looks as if it's wearing a sleeveless pullover sweater.

bcn13765 on May 15th, 2022 at 18:30 UTC »

Love the sweater vest.