Driving up the A1M looking up at the sky, I hoped the rain would ease. I was on my way to the English School of Falconry.

The ESF has many different raptors ranging from small owls to bald eagles. This was my first shoot involving birds at close range. I had made attempts to shoot snake eagles and  kites in the Masai Mara, but could not quite get a good image of them in flight.

Not all birds wanted to play ball on the day, but the ones that did were spectacular.  Shooting birds is extremely tricky, but the rewards are exhilarating.

The ESF offers a great opportunity for practice. The falconers are extremely knowledgeable, giving advice on what the bird might do next, helping to get those great shots.

By the end of the day, the sun was out and we managed four flights with the star of the venue, an 18 month old bald eagle, the aim of thee shoot was to fly over the lake and get shots of him picking his prey from the water surface.

Whilst the bald eagle was fun to shoot, my favourite was the red kite.  Maybe a trip to the Welsh countryside to capture  this magnificent specimen in the wild is called for.