Red Kite action

Mon 12 Jun 2023, 19:15

A very nice pint of Red Kite was to be had in the Rose and Crown over the weekend.

Mon 12 Jun 2023, 17:44

Very useful to recycle dead birds etc. I have put out a couple of pigeons that have been killed by the local cat, and a rat that had been dispatched by my dog (no rodentacide involved). Amazing to watch them pick up their food.  John H

Mon 12 Jun 2023, 13:15

Kites are amazingly manoeuvrable, and rarely touch the ground when out looking for carrion. I have seen the red kite's cousin, a black kite steal most of a sandwich out of somebody's hand, followed extremely closed behind by a second that nabbed the rest when the startled individual dropped it. This was when our group were having a picnic lunch in Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania. We had been warned of being mugged by these creatures by the tour guide, the irony being that he was the unwary victim. Fortunately Red Kites appear not to have learnt this trick.

Of course, gulls to this as well, but not with as much grace and agility, and they are altogether more solidly built birds.

nb. If you want to see something really fast, then I've seen a sparrow hawk take a live pigeon in a garden. That is over in a flash.

Mon 12 Jun 2023, 12:57

I witnessed an amazing thing this morning. As I wandered out into my back garden, I spotted a dead 'squab' (baby pigeon/no feathers) on the grass. It had obviously been washed out of its nest beneath my solar panels by last night's storms.

I could hear a Red Kite calling and spotted is soaring at about 200 feet above. I was heading back indoors when there a sudden rush of wings and I saw the Kite swoop in over a 6 foot fence and take the squab in split-second.

Impressive or what?