12th January - Red Kite

Back in the sixties (I know a long time ago) I would sit at home and get my father to test me on the pictures in the Observer Book of Birds, 200 illustrations in colour and black and white and descriptions of 243 species.  I was word perfect, not missing any as he covered up the names and descriptions.  

There was one bird that always caught my imagination, a bird with a name that I just had to see, in the book it was just "Kite" and the picture was only in black and white.

Years later I knew it to be a Red Kite and I was also aware of its tenuous situation in the United Kingdom with breeding pairs only being found in parts of Wales.  Football and other interests subdued my interest in bird watching, but in the late eighties I became a lot more serious about birding and of course my lists.  The Red Kite quickly became a bird I just had to see and the opportunity arose through work.  A business trip one early summer to a company in Ammanford  in South Wales meant an overnight stay and an opportunity to visit the RSPB reserve at Cym Clydach.  Red Kite were reported there but I was going to have to be lucky.  

My memory of the visit to the reserve is hazy, but I can recall following a footpath through oak woodland where there were Pied Flycatcher and Redstarts and then coming out at the top onto moorland, where I managed a glimpse of a single Red Kite, I can still see the silhouette of the bird above the forked tail standing out so clearly.

I can't say I have a single favourite bird, I have lots, for instance it is hard for to separate Sanderling, Avocet, Greenshank and Spotted Redshank, I love an owl, but of the raptors the Red Kite is by far my favourite.  That evening in the Welsh reserve cemented that and today when I have up to four birds hanging over my garden in Four Marks, I still have to stop and watch as they twist and turn, and then stoop with no effort, their lazy flapping as they move so quickly a joy to watch.  

Over the last few weeks we have been subjected to heavy rain on and off and in between the days of rain there have been some quiet sunny interludes,  The Kites local to me have used these times to investigate the area and this has brought them in close to the garden.  Four at one time is the most I have had over the garden, and I have had some fun photographing them. I thought it was also an opportunity to write about my passion for the bird and also to provide some information.  On that summer evening in the early nineties I never believed I would be able to watch a Red Kite from my bedroom window.  One of the most successful re-introduction programmes in the United Kingdom is the reason for this.

I can only assume the birds are finding food or looking for food put out for them as they will come over the garden quite low and it is easy to get eye contact.  They will also respond to soft whistles.

It is a question of what came first, the word kite for a toy that is flown in the air or the name kite given to the Red Kite, well Geoffrey Chaucer wrote of kites in his Knight's Tail, a fifteen century manuscript refers to "ther cam a kyte", while the first reference to a kite the toy was in the seventeenth century.  So was the toy so called because it behaved like the graceful soaring of the Red Kite?

Centuries ago the Red Kites in the United Kingdom, were ubiquitous scavengers that lived on carrion and rubbish.  Shakespeare's King Lear describes his daughter Goneril as a detested kite, and he wrote "when the kite builds, look to your lesser linen" in reference to them stealing washing hung out to dry in the nesting season.  In the mid-15th century, King James II of Scotland decreed that they should be "killed wherever possible", but they remained protected in England and Wales for the next 100 years as they kept the streets free of carrion and rotting food.  Under Tudor "vermin laws" many creatures were seen as competitors for the produce of the countryside and bounties were paid by the parish for their carcasses.

By the 20th century, the breeding population was restricted to a handful of pairs in South Wales.   In 1989, six Swedish birds were released at a site in north Scotland and four Swedish and one Welsh bird in the Chilterns in Buckinghamshire.  Altogether, 93 birds of Swedish and Spanish origin were released at each of the sites. In the second stage of reintroduction in 1995 and 1996, further birds were brought from Germany to populate areas of Dumfries and Galloway.

It was the reintroductions in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty have been a success.  Between 1989 and 1993, 90 birds were released there and by 2002,139 pairs were breeding.  Back in the early nineties on my visits home to my parents in Oxford from Essex, I would see Red Kites taking advantage of thermals from the M40 motorway around the Stokenchurch canyon.

Between 2004 and 2006, 94 birds were brought from the Chilterns and introduced into the Derwent Valley in north-east England.  In June of 2006, the UK-based Northern Kites Project reported that kites had bred in the Derwent Valley in and around Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear for the first time since the re-introduction.

The struggling Welsh population from the 1980s was supplemented by re-introductions in England and Scotland. In 2004, from 375 occupied territories identified, at least 216 pairs were thought to have hatched eggs and 200 pairs reared at least 286 young.

Another successful reintroduction has been in Northamptonshire, which has become a stronghold for the red kite.  Thirty Spanish birds were introduced into Rockingham Forest near Corby in 2000 and by 2010, the RSPB estimated that over 200 chicks had been reared from the initial release. So successful has the reintroduction been that 30 chicks have been transported from Rockingham Forest for release in Cumbria.  From the Chilterns they have spread as far east as Essex and can be seen over Harlow. To the west they have recently spread along the M4 as far as the Cotswold Edge overlooking the Severn near Bristol and beyond into Somerset.

In 1999, the Red Kite was named 'Bird of the Century' by the British Trust for Ornithology.   According to the Welsh Kite Trust, it has been voted "Wales's favourite bird".  A sighting of the first red kite in London for 150 years was reported in The Independent newspaper in January 2006.  In Northern Ireland, 80 birds from wild stock in Wales were released between 2008 and 2010, and the first successful breeding was recorded in 2010.

In June 2010, the Forestry Commission North West England announced a three-year project to release 90 red kites in Grizedale Forest, Cumbria under a special licence issued by Natural England. The Grizedale programme was the ninth reintroduction of red kites into different regions of the UK and the final re-introduction phase in England.

As of July 2011, non-breeding birds are regularly seen in all parts of Britain, and the number of breeding pairs is now too large for the RSPB to continue to survey them on an annual basis.

I hope I never tire of watching this beautiful bird of prey, I love the twists and turns, the angling of the forked tail as it rides what breeze and lift there is.  I also feel that the sight of a Red Kite drifting with lazy wing beats is similar to the CGI models of dragons in flight, I just love them.

7th January - Blashford Lakes, Hampshire

It seems like it hasn't stopped raining since Christmas, but there have been a few days where the sun has appeared.  The forecast for the weekend was of more rain so Ian and decided to meet up at Blashford, several reasons, one the rain was moving west to east and the hope was it might clear through sooner in the west, the second reason, probably the most obvious, was there were hides and the third reason was there were a few birds reported that would help the year list.

So with heavy rain first thing and the reserve not opening until 9:00am it was not an early start and I met Ian at the entrance to the reserve just before nine.  It has been a while since we have visited the reserve, the  last time being a short visit last March to try and see a very elusive Bittern, it has been even longer since we have spent time in the hides.  We made our way to the Tern Hide over looking Ibsley water, the wind was from the south which meant there were significant rafts of duck in close view of the hide, nevertheless a scope here is essential.

Two duck that I have not spent time with recently are Tufted Duck and Pochard, and there were one or two close in.  A drake Pochard is quite a smart duck, unfortunately the gloomy light of the morning doesn't really do it justice here.

The black anmd white of the Tufted Duck though compliments the grey of the water. 

The grey blue of the bill and the white stripe at the tip was notable.

To the left of the hide there were large rafts of Wigeon and Pintail and in amongst them were several Goldeneye.  Towards the south shore of the lake were a lot more Pochard and dotted about were Gadwall.  What we could not find were Teal.  Scanning around the lake there were what looked like family groups of Egyptian Geese and a fair number of Lapwing on what islands there were in the high water.

We manged to find one or two Goosander in the north west corner of the lake and as I tried to digiscope the Goosander I noticed a small grebe diving in the background, returning to the scope I was able to confirm it was a Black-necked Grebe, the first of the target birds I was hoping for.  It was impossible to get a clear image, this was the best I could do as a record shot.

The rain came in waves and at times was very heavy.  There was only a limited amount of time you could scan around the lake and hope the duck would come closer, so when there was a significant break in the rain we decided to try somewhere else, before though we walked to the viewing platform top see if that gave a better view of the south west corner of the lake.  It didn't but we did come across this male Bullfinch in the bushes.

We crossed the road and walked to the Woodland hide, unfortunately the feeders were empty so there were very few birds, there was though plenty of food elsewhere, but more on that later.  From the woodland hide we walked down to the Ivy Lake South hide, which, incidentally is the only hide with out any tinted windows.  Again there was plenty of duck, this time with large numbers of Teal close to the shore on the left hand side from the hide.  It was mostly Wigeon with a few Pintail and several Gadwall.  At one point all the duck went up covering the sky.

Wigeon

Ian then pointed out a Great Egret in the reeds on the south shore, distantly from the hide.

Then the rain returned with a vengeance with very heavy showers some of hail.  From nowhere a Great Crested Grebe appeared in front of the hide.  The body low in the water as the waves and rain came down

The rain falling heavy here and you can see how low in the water it was.

Then in moments of calm

The rain returns.

Then the calm conditions returned and some wonderful reflections.

And here you can see the legs at the back of the body.

We continued to scan the rafts of duck and a couple of birders in the hide pointed out what they said was a strange duck amongst the Wigeon.  Checking with the scope it was a female Mandarin Duck, an unexpected year tick.

The duck all went up once again,. but as they returned Ian picked out another target bird a female Red Crested Pochard.  It stood out well amongst the Wigeon it was associating with.  Not only was this a year tick but a first for me in Hampshire.  This was a shot taken with the camera.

And these two were digiscoped.

There are some resident populations of Red crested Pochard around the United Kingdom. Originally thought to be a rare visitor, it is now thought that these are escapees from captive populations.

Aside from a Tawny Owl that was visible from the hide a few years ago, the birds today were the best I have seen from this hide.

With a break in the rain we made our way back to the car park and some lunch.  As we stood talking I could see what I first thought was a plane, but there were birds around it.  I mentioned it to Ian and we both got onto it as it banked and showed a huge wingspan and very broad wings.  No doubt, it was a White-tailed Eagle, one of the released birds from the Isle of Wight.  It was low over the tree tops and I rushed around to try and get a clear view but was only able to get this view.

But fortunately Ian managed some far better shots and has shared them with me and I post them here to capture the sighting.

Courtesy Ian Smith

Courtesy Ian Smith

Courtesy Ian Smith

In this photo you can see the satellite tracking on the eagle's back

Courtesy Ian Smith

Information from the Roy Dennis Foundation identified this bird as a female G318 who was released back in 2019, making her three and a half years old.  The yellow bill is a sign of approaching adulthood.

It was then lost to sight as it dropped below the trees, but it was clear it was about as flocks of duck streamed overhead moving from the Ivy lake area to Ibsley water.

We decided to walk around the area, checking the Ivy Lake north hide, but with no sign of the eagle, we assumed that it probably kept going heading towards the Avon valley where most of the fields were flooded and there were more duck and geese.

It was great though to finally catch up with one of these eagles, they have been around for about three years and finally we have seen one, hopefully now we will get to see more.

Walking from the north hide there was quite a bit of activity in the bushes.  There were at least four, maybe more Jay, this one foraging in the grass and lichen.

As we tried to get closer it was off

In the trees and bushes there was a large flock of Goldfinches and Siskins.  A path took us into an opening around which were three feeders all full of seed and with lots of birds coming to them.  The most numerous were the Siskins.

There was plenty of coming and going with Great Tits, Blue Tits and Coal Tits while every so often a Nuthatch would appear.

We decided to walk around to the Goosander hide on Ibsley Water, on the way there was a flock of Long-tailed Tits in the lichen covered trees, the hope was that one would pose there, but they were not that cooperative.  There was also a couple of Goldcrest, but while they were active in the lichen, the light was awful.

Entering the hide all the duck were well away from the hide.  We waited it out with more showers passing through.

Something disturbed the Goosander on the island and they moved out into the water then made there way towards the shore on the left hand side.  A smart drake and two red heads.  The drake followed the two red heads.

The image was distant with the camera so again I tried using the mobile camera and the scope and this time was pleased with the outcome.

The two red heads, one "snorkelling".

Male and female together

Probably the best of the bunch.

The smart drake taking a drink.

With the rain threatening again and the light now very gloomy we decided to head back to the cars.  Before leaving we walked down to the Woodland hide where we were very surprised to see these three Robin in close contact and seemingly tolerating each other.

After that we decided to call it a day and the rain on the journey home only went to reinforce the decision.  It was a day that could have been a right off due to the weather, but one that turned up some gems, our first eagle sighting, a first for my Hampshire list and some good year ticks, result!

2nd January - Hill Head to Brownwich, Hampshire

And so we start a New Year and a new birding year list.  I spent New Year's day taking advantage of the dry (ish) weather to clear up the garden, while at the same time keeping an eye on the skies above and around the garden.  This produced, at one time, three Red Kite quite low over the garden, a Sparrowhawk drifting over and Coal Tits on the feeders.

The sunshine on the second had Helen and I driving down to Hill Head to walk along the beach, in association with many other people.  After negotiating a parking place, looking across Duck Bay, there were several Shoveler roosting in the pleasant sunshine beneath the reeds.

Oystercatcher were frequently moving from the reserve and out on to the beach exposed by the low tide, however with the many people and their dogs about the Oystercatcher were busy moving around.

A large flock of Brent Geese came off the fields and flew down to the sea to settle.  Scanning the water there was very little else other than a single Great Crested Grebe to be seen.  Along the beach there were several Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits in the tide line, while along the shore were Black-headed Gull and Herring Gulls.

We walked as far as the stream and then negotiated the mud and water to reach the bridge and then cross to climb the cliffs to the top.  From here we walked back towards Hill Head.  The sea was still very quiet, even the Brent Geese decided to leave and return to the fields.

We walked back through the chalets and then along the road, stopping for coffee I was able to scan the reserve.  Every so often the sky would fill with Lapwing, the scrapes are probably flooded making dry space a premium.  There was a Buzzard on one of the fence posts and this, too, could be the reason for the nervy Lapwing.  We decided to walk to the harbour, there were two Great Black-backed Gulls patrolling the Meon River and over to the scrapes, their presence always looking menacing.

Despite it being low tide I have never seen the river look so high at the Haven bridge, it was also flowing very fast and the sluices were open and water pouring out into the harbour.  With height of the water and high flow it wasn't really conducive for Kingfisher so it wasn't a surprise not to see one there.

The Titchfield Haven Visitor centre and cafe is now closed, we await to see what fate befits it.  One fall out already was a lot of hungry and confused swans and ducks.  The swans looking longingly at us and others as they walked past.  There was also no sign of any Turnstone, normally they would be on the road and harbour walls.  One Brown rat was seen.

We decided to keep walking and followed the sea wall as far as the Osbourne, where we decided to turn back.  Looking across the beach the Beach huts were reflecting in the pools of water on the beach.

Walking back to the car I stopped at the start of the sea wall, scanned the beach and found a distant group of Sanderling wheeling over the water in an effort to avoid the dogs and people on the beach.  Looking closer there were three near the groynes, with one just standing close to the rocks.  Not my usual Sanderling photograph, but something different.

A very gentle start to the New Year list, it stands right now at 48, I know Ian's is longer but then he doesn't have Red Kite on his list.  There is another 363 days to go, so why rush!  It was a pleasant day in the sunshine and a nice walk.