Red Kite

A work trip to London allowed me to tag on a few days to travel up to Norfolk to see my folks (nothing to do with the fact that this is prime bird migration time at all, honest....). A couple of hours of visible migration on my first day back saw me connect with a bird I have long wanted to see in Winterton - Red Kite. It is a bird that, at times, I have thought I was destined never to see in Winterton. I have missed them by a few minutes, been called when out of town to be told that one was circling over my house, looked the wrong way when one slid past and out of sight behind some trees etc etc... Of course, the status of Red Kite has changed dramatically in recent years. When I was growing up it was a mega rarity in the UK outside its traditional toe-hold in Wales but, in the last few years, these magnificant birds have benefited from a re-introduction scheme whereby young birds from continental Europe have been released in many parts of the UK (the Chilterns, Northamptonshire, Yorkshire and Scotland, to name a few places). Now, the Red Kite is a reasonably frequent migrant and occasional breeder in Norfolk and most years (particularly in Spring) several are seen along the east coast. It is a very distinctive bird with a long, rufous-coloured forked tail, a grey head and, as is typical of kites in general, has a lazy flight.

The supporting cast was a couple of 'ring-tail' Hen Harriers, 2 Common Buzzards (still scarce in east Norfolk, a hangover from the persecution by gamekeepers), a Grasshopper Warbler and a sunbathing adder.

The weather here is very good with clear sunny skies tempered slightly by a pretty cool south-westerly wind. The forecast is not so good for Saturday and Sunday but hopefully the Kite won't be the only highlight of my trip back..

Photos: My first Winterton Red Kite being mobbed by a Herring Gull; the Adder (male) sunning himself in the early morning sun; and an EXTREME close-up showing the reddish eye