Continuing with red kites; I was walking down to our local shops yesterday when a pair of kites gave me a wonderful flying display. There was a fairly brisk northerly wind, and one of them was sailing with the wind, then turning and staying virtually motionless stemming the wind. It soon drifted off north, but another one came very low and it was amazing to see how it was using its tail to make small adjustments to hold it and keep it going in one direction. Of course the ultimate at that is the kestrel that can keep its head absolutely still while hovering and moving it body.
Continuing with red kites; I was walking down to our local shops yesterday when a pair of kites gave me a wonderful flying display. There was a fairly brisk northerly wind, and one of them was sailing with the wind, then turning and staying virtually motionless stemming the wind. It soon drifted off north, but another one came very low and it was amazing to see how it was using its tail to make small adjustments to hold it and keep it going in one direction. Of course the ultimate at that is the kestrel that can keep its head absolutely still while hovering and moving it body.
kites are ace, northern vultures
first one i saw must have been very rare, c 1972 high in the Pennines
since the reintroduction efforts they have become the most noticeable avian "sanitation engineers" in the north after a few decades, i guess they have been taken/helped in the south as well
iirc there have been a few folk who have worked hard to get kites back into the ecosystem
in ye old york they were recorded for their sanitation work, they are rubbish hunters and rubbish hunter's
We saw one in Devon in the 1970s, but as you say, quite rare. They have been reintroduced in the south and some people feed them. There is one close to a friends house and there are loads there. They are becoming a lot more common round here, but buzzards are the most common still. I am pretty sure there are buzzards nesting and breeding in the woodland complex we are in, but not sure if the kites are.
As for other birds, not sure what is doing at the moment. I have seen most of the usual one around as I don't think they were affected here too badly last year. We have plenty of trees and greenery so more chance of surviving the dry hot weather.
I was out in the woods working up some coppice on my own yesterday and watching and listening to birds. Saw some tits; think they were bluetits by the acrobatics, but a bit far to see. Also heard a blackbird, another tit, possibly great, and a woodpecker both drumming and tapping for food. A few bluebell leaves up, but they are late this year as they usually start between mid-December and mid-January. Some wild arum leaves up. Lovely in the sun.
oops i mean 
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