On my way back from hearing my first Chiffchaff I came home the pretty way, along the quiet by-road, with the potholes, through the fields, and I saw in front of me, to my left, a Red Kite suddenly arch in mid air and dive down towards a field of sheep. Now I wasn’t expecting to see it rise with a lamb in its talons, and it didn’t, in fact as I approached I saw there weren’t any lambs to be grasped, just a field of small sheep, and what the Red Kite did was to rise with a long, two-foot I’d estimate, stick in its claws.
On the other side of the road was last year’s Red Kite nest, easily observable from this road until the trees leaf up. The old nest is a massive structure in a linear wood along a small stream and I wondered whether the stick was going to be piled on top but the Red Kite flew to a different part of the line of trees and I couldn’t see what happened to the stick.
My understanding is that Red Kites often re-use old nests – but not always. If only I could find Ian Carter’s and Dan Powell’s excellent book on Red Kites I might be able to look it up. As I sit at my computer I’m pretty sure that book is withing a couple of feet of me but so are several hundred books arranged in no order whatsoever. Maybe that’s a task for the next few weeks?
I’ll keep an eye on that pair of Red Kites over the next few weeks – but the leaves will eventually enshroud their activities.
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Saw my first sand martins of the season, and the first spotted redshank I’ve ever knowingly seen in my life. Great to get out and spend time watching a scrape.
Living here in mid Wales Red Kites are a familiar sight, although “our” local pair have been less than obvious for most of the winter amongst the kites who drift up and down the Severn valley. Currently they are quite obviously here again and on most days, often together but sometimes singly. I love the way they drift over in circles with barely a flap lower or higher as what they see below demands. Simply brilliant
This might be the chance to ‘commute’ to your local patch by bicycle Mark. Easier to stop and look and the smells and of the country are there as you travel along.
The ability to hear birds then stop and look for and at them is a big advantage. My first chiffchaff for the past ten years or so was in the morning on my commute to work.
Worth thinking about. Most car journeys are less than 5 miles. Easily cycle-able.
Mark – yes, they often re-use the same nest, especially if they were successful the year before. But they are also perfectly capable of building a new one. A little later in the year watch for them gathering sheep’s wool as that means the nest is being lined and eggs will be laid shortly. If available, wool is almost always used for the nest lining. Watch too for young birds that muck around with nest material but have no intention of building a nest – just practicing for next year no doubt. I hope you find the book. How else will you be able to slot The Hen Harrier’s Year alongside it!
One question Ian, The Hen Harrier’s Year—- When?
Hi Paul – the writing is done and Dan is currently doing the artwork so hopefully not too long – before Christmas (if that’s still a thing) with a bit of luck.
Thanks Ian, better put on the to buy list.
One sign of an active nest in sheep country can be a pile of elastic bands at the foot of the tree; they’re from the shed tails that the Kites scavenge shortly after the lambs have been “de-tailed”.
I feel somehow more connected to your post, Mark, now that I’ve seen my first ever (or is it 2nd?) Red Kite over our local park, yesterday afternoon, on my way back from work. It was soaring effortlessly above the treeline, heading roughly in a northerly direction. I observed it for a minute or two and then it disappeared from view over the trees. What an uplifting sight on the first day of Spring (astronomically speaking). It must signify something in these inauspicious times?
Ian thanks for the timely reminder about sheep’s wool. Time to look out the stocks of sheep’s wool and put it out for the birds. My son used to get insulated deliveries using sheep’s wool. Unfortunately, the company. went over to using recycled plastic bottle wool.
Great tits get so excited by a bag of wool that they gather a beak full, look round, throw it away and gather some more, again and again.
Sadly no kites here but Jackdaws used to love gathering beakfulls of wool when we had self-shedding Soay sheep.
Sitting outside in the sun for coffee this morning we listened to a Storm Cock. I use this name as it seems the most appropriate. He dominated the rush of wind through the trees from the strong wind off the sea. Despite the wind we realized how quiet the sky was. We live under a jet route to the continent. There was a background rumble of droning jets around 11 O’clock just to remind us what life is usually like but otherwise it was really nice and peaceful.