File:Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis) south of Babalala Picnic Site in Kruger National Park. They were feading on insects while in flight, catching them with their feet, and eating them on the wing. Female.jpg

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Captions

English

Falco amurensis, female

Summary

Description	Falco amurensis Afrikaans: Laas naweek het ons na die area tussen Shingwedzi en Babalala-piekniekplek in die noordelike Krugerwildtuin opgery. Aldaar, in die omgewing suid van Babalala, is 'n uitgestrekte klam gebied wat oorwegend uit grasveld bestaan. 'n Dekade gelede was dit die eerste plek waar ek Oostelike rooipootvalke (Falco amurensis) sou teëkom, en waar ons kon sien hoe hulle insekte in vlug vreet. Nou het hulle dit sowaar weer in dieselfde area gedoen, en ek kon daarin slaag om 'n mannetjie vas te vang. Hulle gryp die insekte in vlug met hul pote, en vreet die insek dan verbasend genoeg al vlieënde uit die pootgreep. Ek kon 'n mannetjie afneem terwyl hy 'n sprinkaan vreet. Dié was nogal ver, maar hy het die bene met een poot afgeskeur, en die sprinkaanlyf stuk vir stuk uit die ander poot gevreet, en dit als terwyl hy redelik vinnig oor die grasveld vlieg. Ek kon nie die voedende wyfies afneem nie, maar kon hulle wel deur ’n verkyker waarneem waar hulle dieselde aksie uitvoer. Hierdie voëls trek al die pad hierheen van hul broeiplekke in suidoos-Siberië en Noord-China. Nou bou hulle reserwes op vir die lang vlug terug na hul broeigebied. English: Last weekend at Kruger National Park, we went up to the area between Shingwedzi and Babalala Picnic Site. There is an area there, south of Babalala that is like a big open damp area of mostly grass. It was the first place I encountered Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis) 10 years ago, and where we saw them eating insects on the fly. Sure enough, they were doing it again in the same area, and I managed to capture a male. They catch the insects while in flight, with their feet, and even more amazing they eat the insect from their feet while they are still in flight. I managed to catch the male eating a grasshopper. It was a bit far away, but it pulled the legs off with one foot, and ate the grasshopper in bits from the other foot, all while flying rather fast over the grassy area. I did not manage to catch the females feeding, though I managed to see them through binoculars as they were doing the same thing. These birds come here all the way from south-eastern Siberia and Northern China where they breed. They are now feeding up for the long flight back to their breeding grounds.
Date	5 March 2023, 09:35:37
Source	https://www.flickr.com/photos/93242958@N00/52736110777/
Author	Derek Keats

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This image was originally posted to Flickr by Derek Keats at https://flickr.com/photos/93242958@N00/52736110777. It was reviewed on 10 April 2023 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

10 April 2023

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current	17:32, 10 April 2023		3,052 × 1,716 (3.42 MB)	Ser Amantio di Nicolao (talk \| contribs)	Uploaded a work by Derek Keats from https://www.flickr.com/photos/93242958@N00/52736110777/ with UploadWizard

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Image title	Last weekend at Kruger National Park, we went up to the area between Shingwedzi and Babalala Picnic Site. There is an area there, south of Babalala that is like a big open damp area of mostly grass. It was the first place I encountered Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis)10 years ago, and where we saw them eating insects on the fly. Sure enough, they were doing it again in the same area, and I managed to capture a male. They catch the insects while in flight, with their feet, and even more amazing they eat the insect from their feet while they are still in flight. I managed to catch the male eating a grasshopper. It was a bit far away, but it pulled the legs off with one foot, and ate the grasshopper in bits from the other foot, all while flying rather fast over the grassy area. I did not manage to catch the females feeding, though I managed to see them through binoculars as they were doing the same thing. These birds come here all the way from south-eastern Siberia and Northern China where they breed. They are now feeding up for the long flight back to their breeding grounds.
Camera manufacturer	Canon
Camera model	Canon EOS R5
Copyright holder
Exposure time	1/2,000 sec (0.0005)
F-number	f/2.8
ISO speed rating	400
Date and time of data generation	09:35, 5 March 2023
Lens focal length	400 mm
User comments	Last weekend at Kruger National Park, we went up to the area between Shingwedzi and Babalala Picnic Site. There is an area there, south of Babalala that is like a big open damp area of mostly grass. It was the first place I encountered Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis)10 years ago, and where we saw them eating insects on the fly. Sure enough, they were doing it again in the same area, and I managed to capture a male. They catch the insects while in flight, with their feet, and even more amazing they eat the insect from their feet while they are still in flight. I managed to catch the male eating a grasshopper. It was a bit far away, but it pulled the legs off with one foot, and ate the grasshopper in bits from the other foot, all while flying rather fast over the grassy area. I did not manage to catch the females feeding, though I managed to see them through binoculars as they were doing the same thing. These birds come here all the way from south-eastern Siberia and Northern China where they breed. They are now feeding up for the long flight back to their breeding grounds.
Short title	Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis) south of Babalala Picnic Site in Kruger National Park. They were feading on insects while in flight, catching them with their feet, and eating them on the wing. Female.
JPEG file comment	Last weekend at Kruger National Park, we went up to the area between Shingwedzi and Babalala Picnic Site. There is an area there, south of Babalala that is like a big open damp area of mostly grass. It was the first place I encountered Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis)10 years ago, and where we saw them eating insects on the fly. Sure enough, they were doing it again in the same area, and I managed to capture a male. They catch the insects while in flight, with their feet, and even more amazing they eat the insect from their feet while they are still in flight. I managed to catch the male eating a grasshopper. It was a bit far away, but it pulled the legs off with one foot, and ate the grasshopper in bits from the other foot, all while flying rather fast over the grassy area. I did not manage to catch the females feeding, though I managed to see them through binoculars as they were doing the same thing. These birds come here all the way from south-eastern Siberia and Northern China where they breed. They are now feeding up for the long flight back to their breeding grounds.
Orientation	Normal
Horizontal resolution	300 dpi
Vertical resolution	300 dpi
Software used	darktable 4.2.1
File change date and time	06:12, 7 March 2023
Exposure Program	Manual
Exif version	2.31
Date and time of digitizing	09:35, 5 March 2023
Meaning of each component	Y Cb Cr does not exist
APEX shutter speed	11
APEX aperture	3
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DateTime subseconds	32
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Custom image processing	Normal process
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White balance	Manual white balance
Scene capture type	Standard
Rating (out of 5)	0
Keywords	birds in flight Kruger Park Falconidae bird taxonomy:family=Falconidae Kruger National Park Amur falcon nature migratory birds birding bird watching birds Limpopo South Africa falcons Falco amurensis taxonomy:binomial=Falco amurensis