Red Kite from the garden at 11am this morning. It gained height and was soon lost from view. Otherwise - 16 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 1 Grey Heron and 2 Raven.
Hi Nick - yes very fortunate to be able to scope the river from here. Clear skies and high pressure pretty much guarantee Red Kites. Ospreys expected too. Really after White Stork, or better still White-tailed Eagle - according to birdguides there are one or two on the move at the moment. Hope you and the family are all well. Enjoyed your last blog - good to see the mothing is picking up. All the best. Matt
They're great birds! Over the last 2 years they've become quite a common sight locally & now the raptor I see most frequently over the garden-most days when the weather is fine. Today on my local exercise walk 5 Red Kites, 1 Buzzard & 2 Peregrines.
Hi Neil - they're still infrequent enough down here to be special sightings but having said that they're very much expected when conditions are right. I had 48 moving in a day one spring. The theory is that some of the birds in your neck of the woods wander down to the south-west, run out of land in west Cornwall and then wander back. They definitely seem to use the Exe to navigate but generally steer clear of the coast. I've only ever seen one on Orcombe Point but have had triple figures from the back garden. Great birds! All the best. Matt
You may not be able to go out much Matt, but the house list should benefit from all this time at home! Some nice ticks the last two or three days!
ReplyDeleteHi Nick - yes very fortunate to be able to scope the river from here. Clear skies and high pressure pretty much guarantee Red Kites. Ospreys expected too. Really after White Stork, or better still White-tailed Eagle - according to birdguides there are one or two on the move at the moment. Hope you and the family are all well. Enjoyed your last blog - good to see the mothing is picking up. All the best. Matt
ReplyDeleteThey're great birds! Over the last 2 years they've become quite a common sight locally & now the raptor I see most frequently over the garden-most days when the weather is fine. Today on my local exercise walk 5 Red Kites, 1 Buzzard & 2 Peregrines.
ReplyDeleteHi Neil - they're still infrequent enough down here to be special sightings but having said that they're very much expected when conditions are right. I had 48 moving in a day one spring. The theory is that some of the birds in your neck of the woods wander down to the south-west, run out of land in west Cornwall and then wander back. They definitely seem to use the Exe to navigate but generally steer clear of the coast. I've only ever seen one on Orcombe Point but have had triple figures from the back garden. Great birds! All the best. Matt
ReplyDelete