Eurasian Kestrel eating her prey

I wanted 2 give that mouse a helping hand... But i was to late.

Yesterday i went out for photography to one of my favorite area's. When i riding down the road i already knew i could maybe find my first subject. A female Kestrel.

When approaching the location i could already see her sitting on a post, i could see she's busy. Oh! She has got herself a prey. Awesome! I never had luck photographing that raptor with a catch.

I approached and saw her sitting with her back towards me, in her talons she was holding her prey very tight.

When making those images i saw immediately i was failing because of her position on that perch. That moment i had to decide to replace my position. So i drove my car very careful a bit closer not to scare her away. Maybe i could make a close up image from her eating her prey.

Everything worked out fine. I was ready. Now and then she looked backwards eyeballing me. When the leftovers from the prey are almost finished she's getting greedy. The whole backside from that mouse is goïng into her beak. Now she's swallowing and i did hope she would look backwards doïng that. Well she did.

First time i managed to catch a close up image with prey from a Kestrel.
In the image you can see a tail and the leg from a mouse still outside her beak.

Cruel image and cruel nature. One has to eat for surviving 2

Later that day i could manage to take another picture but from a different Kestrel. Also perched.
In that image you can see how the frontside from that mouse is already inside that beak.

All of my images are photographed in the wild. Photographed with Canon 7Dmk2 and Sigma 300mmF2.8 +1.4 tc. @ 420mm

Thanks for watching/reading