American Kestrel in Yellowstone

Lumix G5, Lumix 100-300mm

Gail and I were on the lookout for wildlife in Yellowstone, and we soon learned that the quickest clue to seeing where the wildlife was is to spot where the wildlife photographers are clustered. I'm referring to the really SERIOUS photographers who are using huge tripods, dslrs, and gigantic lenses. 

We spotted the above group, and we thought that they were waiting for a bear, but when we walked up and asked them, they said that they were shooting an American Kestrel nest. They were waiting for the female to fly into the nest, and apparently, they had been patiently waiting there for an hour or more. They were extemely touchy bordering on rudeness about people walking in front of their cameras for fear of their prize winning shot being ruined by someone's head in the frame. 

Well, I am a big fan of raptors of all kinds, so I was excited about the possibility of getting a shot of the bird at its nest too! While everybody had their big lenses aimed squarely at the nest, I with my handheld rig saw the birds flying around the nest. The birds are very careful about protecting their nest site, so they are very cautious about flying there, hence the long wait to catch the "perfect" shot.

I was able to grab some shots of the bird perched at nearby branches before the final series of it landing at the nest.

We were lucky, Gail and I only had to wait 10 minutes or so before the bird decided to land next to the nest, and fly into it.

After that, all the big lens people packed up and left to find the next photo opportunity. And I was very happy to be part of the gang who were there to capture that moment.

--Warren