What is this bird?

[spaceghetto]

Can anyone help with identifying this bird? Seen in England.

Hopefully this works...

A red kite.

It's a red kite.

@bloodywhitecat thanks, I thought it was but this was flying in a group, I thought they flew solo.

A red kite, maybe, if the sun was behind it making it look darker? Are you in the SE?

@LegoClone thank you

Red Kite we see them all the time round here they are beautiful.

amp.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/20/red-kites-thriving-in-england-30-years-after-reintroduction

My son works at a falconry centre, they often get groups of red kites above them.

Red kite. I made a mosaic inspired by this bird

[quote spaceghetto]@bloodywhitecat thanks, I thought it was but this was flying in a group, I thought they flew solo.[/quote]
They used to as they were rate,now not so much

A group of red kites is known as a 'Carousel' Op.

Very apt when you see them circling around up there together

Thanks everyone, it was wonderful to see them!

@joystir59 I'm very impressed by the mosaic!

My husband is quite into birds and used to get very excited when we saw red kites - not anymore! They're still a fairly rare sight where we live but are very common when we make trips eastwards along the M4 corridor to see friends and family.

I hadn't heard the collective noun before @CloudsOfCeonothus - it is very apt!

They definitely fly in groups - loads around here. Carousel is very apt as they circle.

We are lucky enough to get groups of 20 or more over our house, they are incredibly social and call to each other noisily. I think they are a bit of an anomaly in the bird of prey world with just how social they are. It

@joystir59 your mosaic is beautiful

Yes it tickled me @LegoClone when a countryside ranger up near the M40 pointed out the carousel of Kites .

I think some people in towns & villages off the M40 where the kites are prevalent, are feeding them in their gardens though. They swoop down dangerously low & I almost expect to see a disappearing rabbit or guinea pig go up in their clutches.....

Lovely mosaic @joystir59

There was an article in our local paper recently about one taking food out of a toddler's hand.

We often have 3 or 4 over our gardens. One landed in my garden this winter. It was enormous close up!

I admired him from the window.

We are just outside of London.

@User27aw

There was an article in our local paper recently about one taking food out of a toddler's hand.

Unfortunately very stupid people in my local area leave out chicken carcasses to feed them, which then leads to them becoming pests similar to seagulls. They won't be told - and are convinced the kites will die without their intervention

But there are also fairly regular myths repeated about them snatching small dogs from gardens, which they are not physically capable of

One took some tissue which had fallen on the pavement from the recycling truck recently outside my house. I keep wondering what it did with it.

They eat as they fly so can only eat what they can grab as they swoop.

So in the chicken example they can’t take the whole thing, just the parts they can swoop and grab. It’s also why you often see them being hounded by corvids to get them to drop it.
I can see why people feed them, they are fascinating and beautiful but it’s like dogs they won’t know what’s theirs and what’s not