Weird effects of the CV - birds

[Casino218]

I live in the suburbs of Leeds. Yesterday I was sat in my garden and I looked up to see a red kite hovering above the neighbours garden. Then it swooped down and tried to go for the neighbours little dog. I ran to the fence and it flew away. The neighbour hadn't seen it happen.

I'm thinking that some of the red kites hover over the takeaway food shops in Leeds and that source of food has dried up.

Just another weird effect of CV.

Red kites primarily kill squirrels and rats as a food source.

There is so much nature by me with a reduction in traffic. It’s beautiful. Pheasants and deer and badgers

In Elizabethan times kites were common scavengers in London.
Maybe the owls always did start at the time, you couldn’t hear them because of traffic?

Loads more birds where I am

"The Birds II: The Co(r)vids"

Coming to cinemas after the lockdown.... if anyone is left...

That's a really interesting observation, OP.

LOL at the self-isolating seagulls! Excellent photo.

We have quite a few peregrine falcons here, they sometimes hover overhead. They are magnificent but I often wonder about smaller cats/dogs being at risk.

I think the last thing we need on top of Covid-19 is to find ourselves in The Birds!!

Woah. I had no idea Red Kites had reached as far north as Leeds. There are parakeets in the parks of Birmingham now, but I can't go see them for a while

Shite Hawk is another name for a red kite isnt it? Cos it scavenges for its food in the least salubrious of places

I am hearing much less birdsong at sunrise compared to late March during other years.

My dad was followed by a queue of hungry ducks at his park - it is incredibly quiet but usually full of kids throwing bread. As he left some squirrels chased him too!

@everythingisginandroses, they were re-introduced as part of a breeding programme at a stately home, years ago, and are now here in large numbers. It's a thrill to see them.

I'd like to see the parakeets!

Red Kites eat carrion, they wouldn't go for a chihuahua unless they thought it was dead already. They eat roadkill or kebab scraps but there's probably less of both of these at the moment. The town we used to live in has a bylaw against feeding them in your garden as it encouraged swarming (they do come down in a mini tornado of birds) and they kept getting chopped up by plane engines on the local RAF base.

@everythingisginandroses years ago they released breeding pairs in the Harewood estate between Leeds and Harrogate. They are everywhere now across North Leeds and they especially love Harehills.

A Peregrine Falcon is tiny -and their method of hunting is to pelt through woodland like a fighter pilot in pursuit of pigeons in flight.

They aren't going to be stealing little dogs and cats unless they halve in size and learn to fly.

I used to love watching the Red Kites near Harewood House on my commute to work. I have noticed a few up on the outskirts of York in the last few weeks.

The seagulls in the pic are playing musical chairs. Sucks to be the one left in the water.

Great thread
Especially enjoyed the 'social distancing' seagulls

Pedant here - please note that there is no such bird species as a seagull. Herring gulls, common gulls, Mediterranean gulls, black-hearted gulls and many more.

We're taking advantage of the quiter streets to improve our bird ID. It's been lovely to see greenfinches in the garden. The starlings, who are usually all over everything are noticeably absent.

We have seen more birds in the garden - but maybe because I have spent more time looking at them? We now have goldfinches, which we only used to see rarely, and for the first time ever a woodpecker - and he was beautiful. The sparrows and starlings are not so happy that I am in the garden more than usual though, but they are getting braver and coming to the feeders even when I am out there now.

Haven't you all heard the conspiracy theory of we're all being lied to and kept inside so they can change the batteries in the birds

I'm sure red kites don't eat live things, they don't hunt. They live off road kill and other animals victims.

It might be a different bird if pray after small dogs but it's not a red kite.

I've lived in 2 places with lots of them and they like motorways close by or places where there will be food out such as the takeaways in harehills. They loved the M4 when I lived down south.

If they ate live things the penguins at Harewood house wouldn't stand a chance would they.

Ffs maybe I have the wrong bird.

Going to text my dad and ask 🙈

www.yorkshireredkites.net/general/red-kite-feeding-habits

I am going to buy some good bird food from the RSPB website and put put fresh water for the sparrows in my garden. They are breeding and need the energy.
Such fun little characters!
🦆🦅🕊🐦🐥🐤🐣🦉

A few years ago, a red kite flew down into my garden just a few feet away from where I was stood at the kitchen window. I nearly jumped out of my skin. It came after a slice of bread which had been thrown out for the (much smaller) birds, but didn’t pick it up.

I have crows and magpies come into the garden and they never cease to amaze me with their intelligence and huge personalities. I once watched a magpie attack a cat in a tree. It kept coming up behind the cat and attacking its tail. No doubt the cat was too close to a nest.

Someone upthread mentioned parakeets. Seriously, you do not want these in your garden. Yes, they are beautiful, but they are extremely noisy and they will strip a fruit tree own in the blink of an eye.

I have also started hearing owls in London quite early on, what is that about? Is it just that we are hearing more due to less road / air traffic noise??