Red Kite Soaring
July 2, 2010 by Bird
Filed under Blog, Fauna, Good Stuff, Skywatch Friday, Summer
Last weekend as I sat quietly reading a book in the garden at R’s family home, I glanced up to see a large raptor circling lazily in the hot summer sky. Buzzards are common in that part of Hampshire, but this most certainly was not a buzzard. The forked tail gave this spectacular bird away. It was a red kite.
I sat entranced as it approached, lower and lower, quartering the field below the garden. It made a couple of lazy passes over my head, enabling me to capture these images on my not so great little point ‘n’ shoot, then sailed languidly away. A better flyer than a red kite you will never see; swifts and swallows and falcons are spectacular, but a red kite seems to defy gravity. With the tiniest adjustment of those long wings they can swoop or hang as if suspended on a string, turning and gliding, a burst of acceleration followed by an eerie stillness, all lazily performed (it seems) with the minimum of effort. Watching these birds you almost believe that if you stepped off a high enough cliff with your arms raised just so…
The birds beauty and prowess are not the only reasons for feeling surprised joy when one just casually appears above you. It was at one point nearly extinct in the UK, with only five breeding pairs surviving. And yet in Tudor London these birds were common scavengers, with a contemporary report stating that “the kites are so tame, that they often take out of the hands of little children, the bread smeared with butter given to them by their mothers“*. Although officially protected in London for their valuable scavenging services by which much putrefying material was removed from the streets, red kites were persecuted throughout the British Isles until they reached their final perilous decline. By the 1920′s, the red kite was all but wiped out.
It’s spectacular comeback means that while red kites are by no means common, you are more and more likely to get lucky and see one with every passing year, and indeed they can be locally common. They are moving outwards at last from their strongholds in Wales and The Chilterns, and this bird is one of a pair which arrived in the neighbourhood only this summer. The first time I ever saw one close up I will never forget; it exploded out of a farmers field on top of Winter Hill near Cookham, a flurry of rusty red and charcoal and so very obviously the rare bird of my dreams that I actually shouted it’s name out loud. A grinning local out walking his dog told me I that if I liked red kites, I was in for a treat. He was right; that afternoon was spent on Winter hill with a picnic, a bottle of wine and the spectacle of red kites in plenty riding the wind below us. I will never forget that first sighting.
*Source of quote:- Birds Brittanica
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Wow. I have never heard of a Red Kite, so thank you for this. I’m now wondering if we have these in the US…gotta take a look at my “bird book.” What great shots you got, too. I can’t think of a better way for a read to be interrupted than to look up and see one of these!
Hi Holly! Just checked on Wikipedia and a few other sources and it looks like they are mainly European with no instances in the USA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Kite
It was really lovely to see this bird, and so close up too. The pictures are a bit indistinct as even though it came quite close it was still too much of a challenge for my camera. The wikipedia page linked above also has a good crisp picture to give you a better idea. But I got the shape, and the colours, and you can see it was a red kite, so I’m happy
…oh, and word verification for this post (yes, my captcha system even requires me to fill ‘em in) was rapture that – appropriate!
Totally cool! Thanks for sharing such a beauty!
You are welcome Lana – it’s not often I get to photograph a bird that is big enough and close enough to show up in the picture
They are incredible aren’t they….? I should really take a trip to that famous farm where they feed them. I didn’t realise that they are solely European, you learn something every day
Nice capture
Hi Chrissy, I didn’t realise that either – and they are scarce throughout their range too. I’ll always count myself lucky when I see one of these birds, we so nearly lost them.
Glad to know that the population of the red kite is increasing. Same we had with bald eagle. Nice pics. BTW how are you doing? Anna
Hello Anna! I heard that the Bald Eagle was in trouble at one point. I think they are quite similar birds in habit too, am I right in thinking the bald Eagle is largely a scavenger? So many large raptors get persecuted needlessly. I’m good thank you, and I think it’s time I came over to your blog to see how you’re doing!
These photos are absolutely stunning. I have never seen a Kite. I’m so glad you took them and shared them here on your blog.
Where I live there are bald headed eagles and I see them every day or nearly every day. Yes they are scavengers who also eat salmon especially during the autumn salmon runs up the rivers. And, yes DDT use almost wiped them right out.
Happy birding and happy blogging too.
timethief, it’s lovely to see you here! The priceless refuge for wildlife around your home makes me happy whenever I think of it. I’ve never seen a bald headed eagle, it must be wonderful to be able to see them every day. I see blackbirds every day – and get just as fascinated by them, but there is undeniable glamour in seeing something so big and rare. I know that in London dedicated birders often see interesting large raptors and other unusual birds passing through, but while I’m envious I’m not really a twitcher at heart, I kind of like to be surprised by my birds! Perhaps I’m just too lazy to be a proper birder
DDT was a huge problem in the US wasn’t it – even the title of the book Silent Spring makes my blood run cold. And the thing is, you know that these chemical poisons are still wiping out birds in places all over the world where use of said chemicals still goes unchecked. Sigh. I wish humans could make a collective decision about keeping land sea and air healthy.
Exquisite photos. I felt I was up there soaring with the red kite.
Thank you nothingprofound, I am so glad you enjoyed them. Keep soaring!