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 .
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| 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. |
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These images are all separate birds, as about a dozen flew into the area. D810 again. |
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| 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. |
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| Some of the above arrivals came that little bit closer. D850. |
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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. |
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These birds kept circling around for about half an hour then settled nearer to the feeding area. |
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| You can almost read its mind, " I'm watching you." |
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All these birds had me firmly spotted but did not appear over bothered by me as in previous visits. |
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| Only theses two birds landed in the tree that was full of them last week. |
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| 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 |
