Red Kite

Pip and I were going on the daily early morning dog walk, as per our now well established and usual routine.  I had my camera with me just in case something caught my eye.

Othe home stretch, while Pip was dreaming of the soon-to-be-his breakfast, I thought I saw a large brown chicken and a magpie in front of us.

Of course, the chuck took flight and went up into the branches of the nearby oak tree.

So, Pip and I followed the bird to see if I could take more pictures.  Pip was very good and kindly forwent his breakfast dream to come with me.

I quickly identified the bird as a Red Kite.  They have recently arrived in our neck of the woods (the last 10 years) having been re-established in 1994  on Christmas Common in the Chilterns 25 miles away.

I had never seen a Kite before – I’ve heard about them, but never seen one flying above me.

I was very impressed.  It soared beautifully.

I am now looking up information – Kites have a wing span of more than six feet.

They are considered scavengers.

From Wikipedia – “The red kite (Milvus milvus) is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers.”

From the RSPB – “The red kite is subject to the longest continuous conservation project in the world.”

Apparently there are now about 2000 birds in the UK and we have one living near us!

It eventually flew away so Pip and I went home for our breakfast.

 

7 thoughts on “Red Kite

  1. Sam

    Pip seems to have amazing manners on his daily walks. The Kite is a thing to behold! I’ve never seen one. son thanks for the pictures.

    Reply
  2. Linda

    How exciting! (and thank you for looking it up on Wikipedia – I would have done exactly the same thing).
    What a good and patient dog Pip is…and I really love this line: “the longest continuous conservation project in the world.” 🙂

    Reply
  3. Highmac

    My first sight of a red kite was about 20 years ago, driving up the M40 (me, not the bird 🙂 ) near Stokenchurch cutting. We now see them regularly where we live, soaring over our house in South Northants. Beautiful and fascinating to watch them riding the thermals with hardly a wing movement, just the tail “steering” it.

    Reply
  4. Nick

    Where I’ve moved to in Thame, they are everywhere, and I’ve often seen four or five birds overhead, circling around as they catch a thermal. They are magnificent birds, and I’ve been able to hear their high pitched cry which is slightly eerie.

    Reply
  5. John A. Davies

    Looks prettier than what I assume is a KITE in my area; we used to call them Nighthawks when I was a kid. They come out at dusk and eat mosquitos and such. I’ll see if I have a picture to compare!

    Reply
  6. SusanF

    Thanks so much for the photos and the info about the red kite. I confess when I saw the title of the post I pictured the paper version of “red kite”.

    Reply

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