From a window on 8th floor of an office building I can see down to a big, old tree, which is home to many birds, at least if one counts the number of nests that can be seen. I saw a black kite sitting on a branch and once he saw me or maybe my camera, he took off and suddenly flew an attack in my direction.
Only later I saw, that there was a second bird hatching eggs in their nest. So I understood, why they are so protective to the area.
A few hours later I made a second visit to the same window, saw the black kite in his nest. He almost immediately alarmed his partner. The two took off and flew an impressive raid against me. If I wouldn’t have quickly retracted my camera, they would have had the possibility to grab it, so close were they flying around my position.
My camera Sony A7R5 with the 24 – 105 mm lens was for sure not the ideal setup for a high speed bird attack. I had to discard many images, but some are quit ok. Anyhow, I really enjoyed this encounter with these two kites. To be able to see them once so close and in full flight mood, was just amazing.
