A kestrel has caught a mouse and is holding it in its talons.

SIEVERSDORF 25.12.2024

Patrick Pleul
dpa photographer,
Frankfurt (Oder) 

Ornithology has been my hobby for many years. I am inspired by it every day. On Christmas Day 2024, the sun finally came out again after many days. So, I grabbed my camera with a telephoto lens and went out into the forest. 

I had actually hoped to take a long-desired photo of a goldcrest, one of the smallest birds in Europe, on that day. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful.

Instead, I observed a kestrel in the blue sky above me. It had been circling over a meadow for a while. Suddenly, it dived from a height of about 50 metres and caught a mouse. Luckily for me, the bird circled above me once more with the mouse in its talons before disappearing into the forest with its prey.