Swallow Tailed Kites – Part II

Here are some more shots of Swallow Tailed Kites from last weekend at Dayton, TX.  They use their 4 ft wingspan to soar while catching bugs in mid-air and off of trees.  Their forked tail is unique and very functional as they use it like a rudder to steer as they glide along, as shown in the first two photos.  They didn’t come out until about 9:00 a.m. so the light was harsh on their white head.  My ol’ arms got sore handholding the camera/lens but it was worth it to get some close-up’s of these majestic birds.

Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld

1/2000 sec @ F13, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation

1/2000 sec @ F13, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation

1/1600 sec @ F14, ISO 1250, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation

1/2500 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation