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Wednesday, 5 February 2020

ANOTHER VISIT WITH THE RED KITES.

I decided for  my afternoon out to have another visit to see the Red Kites with a stop off on route to check on the Short Eared Owls, again unfortunately I saw none, I did how ever see  a single bird last week, so to date I have had seven visits and seen up to three birds on four occasions, I will get some images yet. So after a quick visit I got under way  to the Red Kites which are not far away from Eyebrook  Reservoir so on arrival I parked in my usual gateway an had my packed lunch, all the while reaching for a camera  as a continuous stream of birds approached, this visit I  had taken both my cameras, the D810 & D 850, I still find the D850 with my large lens very heavy but its getting easier, so after about an hour in my gateway I decided to try a second gate as the light was not  that good, I had a little sun for a short time but then the clouds returned, we always have something to complain about light wise. I had a most enjoyable afternoon, its fascinating to watch these birds .


Red Kite, Near to area where they are being fed.

This image taken with the D810 and Sigma 50 - 500 lens out the car window , the birds appeared to come closer if I stayed in the car.





These images are all separate birds, as about a dozen flew into the area. D810 again.

More  birds arriving.

On having a recount I think these add up to about 19 new arrivals,  this carried on for most of the afternoon not continuous  but reasonably regular. D810.

Some of the above arrivals came that little bit closer. D850.



I decided at this time to get out of the car,, I still find the D850 with the large lens very heavy since my stroke, I think next time  I will mount then on my tripod, this sat on the back seat of the car, only about a metre away. what a fool.



These birds kept circling around for about half an hour then settled nearer to the feeding area.

You can almost read its mind, " I'm watching you."






All these birds had me firmly spotted but did not appear over bothered by me as in previous visits.











Only theses two birds landed in the tree that was full of them last week.
Starlings in Tree.

Just for a very short time, some Starlings and a thrush suddenly landed in a tree nearby, but soon departed upon seeing all the Red Kites.




 then moved positions to a small country Lane only to find another set of birds arriving, by this time the clouds had returned and the light was getting poor. 



This bird then  appeared in between two trees , so it was a case of point and hope for the best, unfortunately this was all of the bird I managed to get in the frame, it shows the white wing tags  that shows it is a bird tagged in the Midlands. After  this the light got worse so I headed home, but a wonderful afternoon.



Thank you for your visit, I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I did in getting the images and being with these beautiful graceful birds


14 comments:

  1. Hello John, spectacular images of the Red Kite. You are lucky to have them near by.
    Regards,
    Roos

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    Replies
    1. Hi Roos,
      I am mostly lucky and thankful to the friends that told me where to find this concentration of Red Kites. It seems every time I visit the more birds I see,
      All the best
      John

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  2. They are so beautiful in flight. Great photos John! I had a Cooper's Hawk land in the tree just outside our back windows. I wondered why the smaller birds were so scarce :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Denise,

      Hope you managed some images of your Hawk. I have been very fortunate with these birds, we have io many in such a small area, I am spoilt for choice, plus they are 1.75 metre wing span, so they are difficult to miss,
      All the best,
      John

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  3. That I love these birds. Bravo for all the flights, the underside of the wings is very bright.
    Good night, John. Good health.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Nathalie,
      I am having a super time with these graceful birds, a friend who comes birding with me sometimes but lives a long distance away cannot wait to come and see the area and get some images, they are such beautifully marked birds.
      All the best,
      John

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  4. An excellent selction of pictures John. I hope to see more of them. Good Luck, Mike.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mike,
      Still nothing like the numbers you managed but getting better, I will try another visit hopefully soon.
      All the best,
      John

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  5. The Red Kite are beautiful flying, John, they are wonderful, I love them.

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  7. Hello John
    I'm really a bit quite jealous of these beautiful red kites hear wow ...... What could you make beautiful pictures of it and also flying. Beautiful in the details of the springs and super nice to see. I think you also had the day of your life with so many beautiful red kites around you! And for the miscellaneous a photo of the starlings hihi ..... Really very nicely done.

    Take care of yourself and be careful,
    Helma

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    Replies
    1. Hi Helma.
      As you say I have had an amazing time with these beautiful Red Kites, just to see so many is a joy in itself but to be able to get some images of them in flight is a bonus, I love watching these birds, so graceful in flight. Just could not resist the Starlings when they flew in but upon seeing the Kites departed very quick.
      You look after yourself
      All my good wishes,
      John

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  8. My husband would go crazy if he saw it! He loves birds of prey, and kites especially. We want to go on a trip to Israel to observe birds of prey in flights.

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  9. Hi Ludmila,
    Its such a shame you are not closer, your husband could have had a visit to see the Kites. Hope you have a successful trip to Israel.
    All the best,
    John

    ReplyDelete

About Me;


Titus White:
Hi I am Richard Peglers friend Titus White, and those who follow Richards posts will understand the name and reason for it. I have been birding with Richard for 3 years and a volunteer at Rutland Water on the Osprey Project for 2 years. My early images were taken on a Nikon D80 with a 70 - 200mm lens. I updated the lens to a 70 - 300mm VR lens but still was not happy with the results. Eventually when Nikon announced the D7100 I decided to change so upgraded the camera and also invested in a Sigma 50 - 500mm lens.
I first met Richard through Arthur Costello as I was having the occasional visit from Little Owls on our land. We eventually found the Little Owls through another contact about 100 metres away. Photo's will follow on future posts.
I have recently upgraded my camera to full frame, this is a challenge I am at the moment enjoying trying to get the best out of the beast.
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