Red Kites

[Horace]

My best ever sighting of a red kite this morning, by the roadside on the A602 at Bragbury End, just on the ege of Stevenage. Was scavenging about 5 or 6 feet above the ground in full view - magnificent sight!

[missunderstood]

My best ever sighting of a red kite this morning, by the roadside on the A602 at Bragbury End, just on the ege of Stevenage. Was scavenging about 5 or 6 feet above the ground in full view - magnificent sight!

My best ever sighting of a red kite this morning, by the roadside on the A602 at Bragbury End, just on the ege of Stevenage. Was scavenging about 5 or 6 feet above the ground in full view - magnificent sight!

 

Lucky you, I was in Brittany three years ago where there was a small population of them, and I was about the only person that never got sight of a single one. Did you get any snaps of them?.

[Eastside Urchin]

These birds are spreading further east from the chilterns all the time,I regularly see them around the A1 junction of the M25,have seen them as Far East as Enfield

[Big J R]

I'm told that there are now TWO pairs in the Box Hill region this year.

 

I haven't seen one for a couple of years now.

[Eastside Urchin]

There are a few birds knocking around Surrey

There is I believe a pair in Mid Essex

Norfolk has a few pairs,saw one bird the other day,

Northants,Cambs,Leics has the a rockingham birds,not long now before they pretty much all overlap.

Berkshire,bucks,beds,Oxon,Herts all have breeding birds now

[Tom S]

Plenty of reports round the Enfield area but I haven't seen one here yet.

 

At Uxbridge Cricket Club last year one gave the crowd a lovely view during a Middlesex game flying right over the ground towards Uxbridge common.

[Horace]

Saw the Stevenage one again this afternoon - but this time in the town!

[Big J R]

Our youngest daughter who lives 200 meteres up the road from us has had a pair circling over her house.

 

Unfortunately, her neighbour 2 doors away keeps racing pigeons,

 

However, she has been putting chicken remnants out at the bottom of her garden on top of her pergola, and the more adventurous of the pair happily takes it, even with our daughter standing in the garden by her back door not 20 meteres away !!

[Big J R]

Having now spoken to a local 'bird-man-in-the-know', I'm told that there are three juvenile red-kites in the woods, south side of Dorking near Leith Hill.

 

It assume the one I see daily over our estate is one of these and seems blissfully un-fazed by humans, which worries me a little.

Edited May 22, 2013 by Big J R

[Eastside Urchin]

Don't be worried,in the old days upto around 150 years ago they were common on the streets of london

They are a scavenger by nature

[Big J R]

I see in todays Saturday Daily Mail magazine that the new series of 'Spring Watch' will be following a nesting pair in someones back garden.

 

Now glad to see they seem to have no worries with humans.

 

Mind you - Until you see one up close, (15 feet or so, in my case), you just don't realise how big they really are !

[Big J R]

STOP-PRESS.

 

I've just heard an unconfirmed rumour that a local farmer has, in the last few days, shot the three juvenile red-kites that have adopted south Dorking as their territory.

 

Youngest daughter and myself are trying to investigate further !!!!

[Eastside Urchin]

Hi mate, I saw 2 at Box hill yesterday and another at Reigate Heath

[Eastside Urchin]

I have just found out that someone has shot a short eared owl that I took pics of a few weeks back on an EWT site,or close to it

[Big J R]

Probably good news.

 

Whilst gardening this aftenoon, I spotted first a female kite circling for food approximately 150ft above our house.  She moved slowly towards Boxhill and I then spotted another red kite much higher than her and circling at around 300ft.

 

Impossible to say if this is the Boxhill pair that E E saw recently, or the juveile pair to the south of Dorking, but I do feel a bit better.

[Eastside Urchin]

This time of year could be wandering birds

[Big J R]

Some absolutely fantastic footage of red kites on  'Springwatch'  last night.

 

To see so many at that feeding station in Wales was brilliant.

[Horace]

Had one circling over my house (Hertford) on Saturday afternoon. Magic! Was accompanied by a much smaller bird that might have been a kestrel.

[Eastside Urchin]

More than likely mate

[Horace]

More than likely mate

Thanks Rob. Was out cycling this morning near Watton at Stone when a buzzard circled overhead at about 20ft. Never used to see buzzards but since the red kites came I seem to see buzzards too.