For a long time, I’ve been wanting to photograph the black kite (milvus migrans). I often see this medium-sized bird of prey, but always in flight, circling high up in thermal air currents as it hunts for prey with its keen vision. This day, though, was a lucky day. I caught the rare sight of this kite landing on a massive industrial crane, where it perched scanning for prey and preening itself. The bird was unfortunately too distant to attempt any beautiful close-ups (Cecille Kennedy’s and Lorraine Boyd’s magnificent American bald eagle shots stand out in my mind). Nevertheless, I treasure this image, and to me, it forms a commentary on how creatures great and small, high and low in the food chain, adapt to the world we humans build around them.

Canon PowerShot SX60 HS