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Red kite

Posted: Sat Jun 16 2018 20:46
by davelumb
I'd never heard of red kites being trained until a demo at a country show today. First time I'd seem one close to as well. Although I wasn't all that close, this is from a fair distance and cropped. The dark background is the inside of the falconer's van.

Image

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sat Jun 16 2018 20:55
by Kev Berry
Beautiful plumage :thumbs:

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sat Jun 16 2018 20:58
by davelumb
The sun came out at just the right time. :wink:

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sat Jun 16 2018 21:22
by Freako
Nice pic Dave of a beautiful bird.

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sat Jun 16 2018 21:27
by davelumb
I wasn't gonna bother wasting a frame but I thought "What the heck". Took two ant one was OK. Quite glad I did now as almost all my sheep pictures are pants! :sad:

I didn't watch the display, only saw it in passing. The little owl was cute, and uncooperative, but did eventally fly to the guy's hand. To much applause. :grin:

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sat Jun 16 2018 21:36
by Nobby C
Kev Berry wrote: Sat Jun 16 2018 20:55 -
Beautiful plumage :thumbs:
Wasn't the the Norwegian Blue? :laughs:

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sat Jun 16 2018 21:41
by Andrew
Crackin picture :thumbs:

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sat Jun 16 2018 22:01
by davelumb
Just lucky.

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sat Jun 16 2018 22:55
by Steve Le maitre
Buy yourself a tractor - this time of year it seems whether I’m mowing, turning, raking, baling these birds are on the look out for any small mammal unfortunate enough to be hit by the machines and they come in close, very close and not bothered by the presence of the tractor at all. Shame I can’t take decent pictures ! Loads down my way, those and Buzzards.

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sat Jun 16 2018 23:00
by Kev Berry
Nobby C wrote: Sat Jun 16 2018 21:36 -
Kev Berry wrote: Sat Jun 16 2018 20:55 -
Beautiful plumage :thumbs:
Wasn't the the Norwegian Blue? :laughs:
yep :wink:

(think Dave missed that---although it is a beautiful shot)

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sat Jun 16 2018 23:04
by davelumb
Steve Le maitre wrote: Sat Jun 16 2018 22:55 -
Buy yourself a tractor - this time of year it seems whether I’m mowing, turning, raking, baling these birds are on the look out for any small mammal unfortunate enough to be hit by the machines and they come in close, very close and not bothered by the presence of the tractor at all. Shame I can’t take decent pictures ! Loads down my way, those and Buzzards.
I'm sure Nige Grassby told me that when his dad was ploughing, years ago, he had the same thing happen with kites but taking worms.

No kites up my way. Well, one has been seen to much excitement of the local twitchalots.

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sun Jun 17 2018 09:58
by cookiesdaughtersdad
Great shot that ,Dave almost looked the the bird posed for you, Cracker!
Kites are known to be scroungers and scavengers eating worms etc, hardly the raptor that we think they are, certainly not the one they look like.

Cheers Alan

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sun Jun 17 2018 10:04
by nigel savage
Plenty of Kites down here Dave, came to the rescue of one that had "downed" itself at Rutland, an angler fished it out and left it under a tree, took the precautionary measures of taking two predator landing nets with me in the truck in case it got stressed out.
It was very placid even with the nets over it, I took it down to the bird centre to look after.

Excellent image, by the way. :thumbs:

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sun Jun 17 2018 10:28
by davelumb
cookiesdaughtersdad wrote: Sun Jun 17 2018 09:58 -
Great shot that ,Dave almost looked the the bird posed for you, Cracker!
Kites are known to be scroungers and scavengers eating worms etc, hardly the raptor that we think they are, certainly not the one they look like.

Cheers Alan
That's why I was surprised to see one trained to the lure, Alan.

In his commentary the falconer warned of kites reaching plague proportions and becoming like the chip-robbing gulls at the seaside, swooping down to grab your food. I'm not sure if he was joking or not!

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sun Jun 17 2018 12:55
by Monts
Nice photo Dave, spotted two yesterday on my local river for the first time. They seem to be moving over as when we fished the Berkshire rivers a lot we used to see loads.

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sun Jun 17 2018 23:03
by wid
Lovely picture, seen them down the m40 many times when I was on the trucks years ago

Re: Red kite

Posted: Sun Jul 01 2018 21:14
by martin(rockape)
Loads round my way. My dad throws lumps of bread and stale cheese on the grass for the birds and tge Red Kites just take the cheese.

I was over his place the other week armed with some rather nice chicken wings. Fantastic watching the Red Kites swoop down picking them up.

Regards

Martin

Re: Red kite

Posted: Mon Jul 02 2018 00:03
by Kev Berry
martin(rockape) wrote: Sun Jul 01 2018 21:14 -
Loads round my way. My dad throws lumps of bread and stale cheese on the grass for the birds and tge Red Kites just take the cheese.

I was over his place the other week armed with some rather nice chicken wings. Fantastic watching the Red Kites swoop down picking them up.

Regards

Martin
this vid shows them in slow motion picking up---would love to see that, not many round here for some reason

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTgzFj2BIZs

Re: Red kite

Posted: Mon Jul 02 2018 01:49
by martin(rockape)
Nice video, the video i took isn't as good as that as i used my phone to do it.

Regards

Martin

Re: Red kite

Posted: Mon Jul 02 2018 08:04
by ChrisWales
It has the same facial expression as a pit member when somone names a water on their first post

Re: Red kite

Posted: Mon Jul 02 2018 17:39
by John Milford
davelumb wrote: Sat Jun 16 2018 22:01 -
Just lucky.
But a good eye helps you get 'lucky' :wink:

Seen plenty of them in mid- Wales, Shropshire and Oxfordshire. Even seen the odd one here in Derbyshire. Do you think they are becoming more widespread?

Re: Red kite

Posted: Mon Jul 02 2018 18:41
by colinb
davelumb wrote: Sun Jun 17 2018 10:28 -
cookiesdaughtersdad wrote: Sun Jun 17 2018 09:58 -
Great shot that ,Dave almost looked the the bird posed for you, Cracker!
Kites are known to be scroungers and scavengers eating worms etc, hardly the raptor that we think they are, certainly not the one they look like.

Cheers Alan
That's why I was surprised to see one trained to the lure, Alan.

In his commentary the falconer warned of kites reaching plague proportions and becoming like the chip-robbing gulls at the seaside, swooping down to grab your food. I'm not sure if he was joking or not!
I worked with a guy many years ago and he had fought in the desert with Montgomery he told me many times of the Shitehawks as he called them that would rob you as you left the mess. Probably the same birds.

Re: Red kite

Posted: Mon Jul 02 2018 20:35
by Stewlaws
Dave if you 're in the grip of this dry spell, the first field to be ploughed will be awash with buzzards, my best to date was 56 on 30acres looking for worms

Re: Red kite

Posted: Mon Jul 02 2018 21:20
by davelumb
Stewlaws wrote: Mon Jul 02 2018 20:35 -
Dave if you 're in the grip of this dry spell, the first field to be ploughed will be awash with buzzards, my best to date was 56 on 30acres looking for worms
That's a lot of buzzards!

Re: Red kite

Posted: Mon Jul 02 2018 21:55
by Stewlaws
The dry summer gave up field of barley that was wholecropped and then put into fodder **** ... The field been ploughed was an anomaly at that period, but it's not uncommon, but impressive i must admit