A Quick Return to Lunt

It always surprises me when what I regard as a rather run-of-the-mill photograph gets lots of likes on Facebook, especially when I don't think the shot is that good.  I took this photo of a Kestrel from Lunt Meadows in Merseyside whilst I was waiting for a Short-eared Owl to show and it's had a total of nearly 1000 likes in various groups on Facebook to date.

Gary Clarke, Denis Eagling and I were standing on the River Alt embankment looking down on to a farmer's field over which the bird had been hovering in a few places.  This Kestrel will be the same bird as I photographed a couple of days ago and this must be its territory.

We decided to get a little closer for a better shot because our height on the embankment brought us to almost eye-level with the bird at times. However I was at the back of the queue and, as Gary and Denis approached, it flew past them and towards me, enabling me to get this shot.  I don't think it's quite sharp enough and there's not enough depth of field, but I guess the angle and pose make the shot quite pleasing.

I didn't really get close enough to the Owls today, so all my shots are heavily cropped which increases their lack of sharpness.  So the quest for that killer Short-eared Owl shot continues ...