Black Kites - Hokkaido Birding

Black Kites are a Hokkaido resident, and they inhabit some of the same air space with the Steller’s Sea Eagle and the White-tailed Eagles that frequent the pack ice in Hokkaido during the winter. More commonly scavengers than predators, they become more aggressive hunters during January and February because that is their breeding season, and the males hope to demonstrate their prowess in the hunt, so they are more active competitors with their raptor brethren. When I visit Hokkaido in the winter, I’m always trying to capture the emotion of a photographic subject, and for the Black Kite and other raptors, that means trying to capture an eye line match with the subject which almost allows you to see the world from the perspective of a Black Kite. Take offs and landings are also among the more dynamic photo ops that the predatory birds of Hokkaido offer. To truly make the most of photographing the Black Kites at those moments, rather than photographing from above, I recommend being either at eye line or below. At just the right moment, from a pristine stillness, the Kites spread their wings wide almost as if stretching before the flurry of movement associated with defying earth’s gravity and taking flight. Those moments are the ones that look amazing when captured.

On a recent adventure in Hokkaido, I took the photo attached to this blog. I used a Nikon D5 with 800 mm lens and a Gitzo Tripod with the Wimberley Gimbal Head. Settings were f11, shutter speed 1/2500.