A dedicated wildlife photographer went to great lengths to capture stunning images of a bird of prey by disguising himself as a bush for weeks.
Charlie Blake, aged 41, wore full camouflage gear and concealed himself under a net for hours at a time to capture the precise moment a Red Kite landed in his backyard. He explained, “I focused the camera on the anticipated swooping area. When it appeared in the frame, I clicked the shutter and hoped for the best.”
After observing a group of Red Kites flying high above his home in Portsmouth, Hants, Blake spent weeks preparing for the perfect shot. Initially out of range for photography, the birds eventually descended closer after he started leaving food for local foxes.
In March, he witnessed a Red Kite landing in his garden to scavenge for scraps but missed the opportunity to photograph it. Determined, he devised a plan to blend in with the foliage and, after two weeks of patiently waiting for hours under the camouflage net with his Canon 90D camera, he successfully captured the majestic bird swooping down.
Red Kites, once nearly extinct in the UK due to hunting, are now a common sight. Conservation efforts, including the release of chicks from Spain and Sweden in the Chilterns during the 1980s and 1990s, have led to a significant increase in their population.
With over 6,000 breeding pairs in Britain, representing 15% of the global population, conservation strategies have been successful. Efforts are now underway to reintroduce Red Kite chicks from Northamptonshire to Extremadura in western Spain.
Describing the distinctive features of Red Kites, Blake noted their reddish color, large wingspan, and forked tail. He mentioned their scavenging habits, mainly feeding on roadkill or scraps left by humans, and highlighted their peaceful coexistence with other bird species like crows.
In conclusion, the photographer expressed his hope that his images would help people appreciate the wildlife around them and emphasized the importance of conservation efforts to protect these magnificent birds of prey.