Understanding flight

Ever since I was a boy I wanted to fly, looking at the Kestrel hunt and the Seagul gliding through the sky. The Blue Tit in my garden.

My dad letting me hold a baby budgie, then watching it fly was the start of my journey and love for birds and birds in flight.

Knowing how many different species take to the air using there Chest muscles to transfer power to the wings.

Let’s look at a at wing in more detail.

The wing and chest

So how does a bird fly, the explanation is from the web.

Flight.

The feathers that make up the birds wing are very interesting and important.

Its was a question I was asked many times when I bought my African Grey Parrot. Will you have her Clipped. My answer was easy, birds were meant to fly, they were given wings for a reason.

Also clipping if done wrong can end up in the bird having accidents that could kill them

Birds have 3 typres of feather Primary, Secondary and Tertiary.

Most birds have 10 Primary feathers on each wing, and without these they can’t fly.

Bella our African Grey has Black primary Feathers

What I love to see is the difference in reaction times between different species. Take the Swan and Goose the use the feet to run fast while beating their wings to take of.

Small birds with long legs just jump in to midair to take a fraction of a second.

The Kestrel that is suspended in midair just a few beats from its wings to keep airborne.

The White Tailed Eagle coming in so fast but looking graceful with its huge wingspan stretched out.

Flight is such a wonderful thing and the closet i got to it was when I used to jump out of the C140 Hercules Plan at 140 knots.

Author: blackie1957

I am 63 years old and and since a boy have had an interest in wildlife and in particular birds. I help my Dad with the rearing of young finches and other birds. I had many small birds as pets and as i got older and joined the Military i purchsed my first Camera, and fold out Kodak. Over a 22 year period i enjoyed many countries outside the uk and observed many species of birds. When i left the military in 2000, i bought my first digital camera a Canon 450D with a Tamron 70-300 and started my journey on capturing images of birds and animals. I quickly learned that there was a lot more to getting a good image of a bird, so i started to research the best settings for my camera in order to capture a better image. Over a 12 month period i realised that needed to invest in a better camera and lens and after research bought a Canon 50D and a 100-400 Lens. It was 2013 when i really got to grips with the setup and came across a lovely Short Eared Owl. From that meeting i started to concentrate on Owls as they fasinated me. From Canon to Olympus i recently jumped ship again to Sony. The variety of birds i have captured over a 10 year period is vast and at present i have a wildlife hide in lancashire where most of my images are captured.

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