This was what I came for.

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But instead I found a dragonfly eating his prey, that was more important to post.
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I am not saying that birds of prey are less important, but I get many shots of them and the dragonfly eating his prey was a once off.

You can see the eating dragonfly in my post Here

My original plan was to get close to the mountains in order to get some raptors in flight and I was not disappointed. A great factor is that the moon was also up and as it develops towards a full moon, I will try to get it on the mountain peaks and hopefully also some raptor birds close to the moon in the shots. It takes a lot of patience and timing, but with all of the power cuts here, I have the time to wait.

This below is what I am talking about. Imagine a raptor bird close to a full moon face in a photo!
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The closest bird that I could get near the moon, was this old photo of a Pied Crow.
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This one is a Jackal Buzzard (Buteo rufofuscus) and it got the name, as it's call is similar to the yelping sound of a Black-backed Jackal.
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The sun made it a bit difficult to id this one below, but it's either a Kite or a Falcon.
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The "Falcon" and the Buzzard were both up at the same time, but not close to each other, as there were a few miles between them.
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Thankfully I got both on the camera's track and zoom action.
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I am fortunate to have a strong zoom that I use to read the mountain peaks like a book.
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Like I said, close to the mountains are the best spots to get the patrolling raptor birds high up.
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The best part is that it is healthy to breathe the fresh air of the mountains, even though I am still struggling to walk a little bit with minor pains in my legs. The instruction from the doctor was to push through the pain as it will eventually go away. Not easy, but at least it is so much better than the terrible leg cramps that I used to get.
So I look forward to the time when I can walk like a regular guy again as there are many long walks that I still want to take.
In any case, I hope that you have enjoyed the pictures and the story.

And That's All Friends.

Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX70HS Bridge camera.

Thank you kindly for supporting a post on behalf of @papilloncharity

photography photographylovers raptors mountains wellbeing proofofbrain creativecoin neoxian silverbloggers
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23 comments
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Fun zooming into the birds when playing in the thermals against the mountainside, excellent captures once again.

Good to hear you pushing through being more positive with walks once again, paid robs so many before completing all they wish to accomplish in life.

!LUV

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Oh yes and the dives when they spot a prey is also spectacular.

Raining here today and pains are extra special in the wet weather, but just had to pop out to get the quick change from a bright morning sun to the start of the morning rain.

!LUV

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Still raining here with cooler weather being thoroughly enjoyed by yours truly!

Watching birds in the wild, big or small all are fascinating.

!WINEX

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Glad that you have some cool weather over there, even if we both now that it will not last !LOLZ

Oh yes, always fascinating and I got some good ones today again.

!WINEX

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Birds are riding thermals in front of clouds a wee bit too high up to zone in here, hopefully soon capture something worth talking about 🙂

!LUV from Durban...

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They struggle here in the lower winds as the strong gusts can wreck them.
I got this Kite today high up.

Hope that you will also get ones soon!

!LUV from the Cape.

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We had strong winds go through a couple of days ago, birds were flying backwards or sideways !LOLZ

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So amazing how they know to fly in the strong winds. I love watching the mossies and the sunbirds flying in the strong winds !LOLZ

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Beautiful photos, the color of the sky looks very blue and makes the birds stand out. You have a lot of nature to photograph, those landscapes look spectacular! 😍

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Thank you and yes, I agree as the blue always makes for a lovely background.
We are blessed with abundant nature scenes here.

!PIZZA

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Congratulations @papilloncharity! You received a personal badge!

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Wow, amazing pictures! Especially against the backdrop of the moon turned out to be a very cool shot.

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Thank you and I have taken many movements on the moon pictures over the years, but lately I don't have so much time to wait anymore. So I have to take what I can get.

!BEER

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