Kestrel meets kayakers near Penzance, on the Cornwall coast of England

THE Traveler: Mark Ryan of Minneapolis.

The scene: A kestrel perched on a rock outcropping overlooking Mount's Bay, near Penzance, a coastal town in Cornwall, England.

DESTINATION: "Getting to Cornwall was a pleasant 4½-hour train ride from London through some beautiful English countryside. Penzance, made famous by the Gilbert and Sullivan pirate musical, is a beautiful seaside town of about 20,000 people built upon a hillside, with many attractions including Land's End, Morrab Gardens, a promenade (the Prom) through town, and a seafront walk to Marazion. We saw a lot of Penzance during our short stay but not a single pirate," Ryan wrote in an e-mail.

The trip: Ryan and his wife, Marge, traveled to Penzance to visit family. While there, they saw sights including St. Michael's Mount, an island with a 12th-century monastery castle and chapel. "The mount and castle is accessible by foot during low tide or boat during high tide. We were able to walk out to it but had to take a boat back when the tide came in later in the afternoon," Ryan wrote.

Getting the shot: Ryan saw the kestrel, waited for the kayakers to enter the frame and then took the photo with a Panasonic Lumix FZ200, "my favorite camera for travel," he wrote.