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The great outdoors

Here you can find advice on camping, outdoor activities and walking in the UK and abroad.

Original poster

I am sure I saw a red kite this morning

98 replies

OwlLady · 04/12/2012 13:56

It was massive. I saw it from the back and it was flying through the woods near my house. I have never seen a bird with a wing span SO big Shock I thought it was an owl to begin with...Hmm but it's body was too small

could it have been a red kite? I live in Beds

If anyone is bored enough, please advise :o

OP posts:
mistlethrush · 04/12/2012 13:57

They appear to have VERY long, quite narrow wings - much narrower but longer than buzzards wings. They also have a very distinctive forked tail which is the real giveaway.

SilverSky · 04/12/2012 13:58

They are rife in Bucks. Everywhere! So it's very possible it was one. They are massive.

SilverSky · 04/12/2012 13:58

YY to forked tail also.

Original poster
OwlLady · 04/12/2012 14:03

we get lots of buzzards, it just didn't look like a buzzard. But yes, they are massive too! I need to get a bird spotting book i think

(and thank for answering..I needed to share)

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GrimAndHumourlessAndEven · 04/12/2012 14:04

The underwings are very definite black-and-white near the wingtips

They are NORMOUS birds, heeeee-yuge wingspan. I felt I was in the Andes looking at condors when I saw my first one. Lol

Welsh borders here

Frontpaw · 04/12/2012 14:05

Aren't they pretty? We see them in Stirlingshire where go up.

peeriebear · 04/12/2012 14:06

They look a bit like they have the circles under the wings like a Spitfire. We have loads of them here (Midlands council estate) :)

CMOTDibbler · 04/12/2012 14:07

Quite possibly - they are v common in Oxon, Berks and Bucks now. If you drive down the M40, I've seen up to 50 between Oxford and the M25

Original poster
OwlLady · 04/12/2012 14:10

well I think you are spoilt CMOTDibbler as I have only seen my first one today :) I didn't know they were so commonBlush but yes it was very pretty and I felt a bit Andes esque too

arent birds just lovely anyway? I never really understood bird watching until I got a bit older

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InExitCelsisDeo · 04/12/2012 14:16

Very jealous. Have never seen one.

I did see a Kingfisher the other day though.

peeriebear · 04/12/2012 14:17

I haven't seen a kingfisher for years! You don't realise how tiny they are until you see one- it was like somebody throwing an iridescent Powerball.

GrimAndHumourlessAndEven · 04/12/2012 14:22

They were persecuted for decades, the pop plummeted, the recovery of the red kite has been a triumph

Yy to birdwatching being a bit of a bore when younger. My dear ole dad had us join the catchily-named Young Ornithologist Club as kids. Was ugh and embarrassing BUT we knew diff tit calls, could tell mistle thrush from song thrush. Ha ha ha.

Sorry for derail/hijack

LoopsInHoops · 04/12/2012 14:24

My friend's cat has so far caught a kingfisher, a woodpecker and a baby owl. :(

Original poster
OwlLady · 04/12/2012 14:31

lol at the club being embarrassing :o I was made to attend church without my parents, such was the 80s

I have also not seen a kingfisher for years Xmas Envy

I have woodpeckers, jays and game birds in the back garden though... the buzzards kill the game birds though if they get them. Rip them to peices

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iseenodust · 04/12/2012 14:32

Inexit if you live middle of the UK, guaranteed to see some if have outing to Harewood House.

peeriebear · 04/12/2012 14:33

Bloody hell Loops! Watch out for it dragging a condor through the catflap...

AvonCallingBarksdale · 04/12/2012 14:34

Bucks here and there are loads of them!! They were reintroduced in this area some time ago in one of the most successful reintroduction programmes ever, don't you know! They're spectacular birds.

ArielThePiraticalMermaid · 04/12/2012 14:37

There are loads in the Chilterns. If you saw a bird with wings like barn doors, then it will have been one. I wish we had them in Cornwall.

They are really one of our conservation success stories in England and Wales. If only other birds of prey could have the same success - bastard fucking gamekeepers Angry

Original poster
OwlLady · 04/12/2012 14:41

are gamekeepers allowed to shoot birds of prey? Shock

yes i was a townie for 33 years

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mistlethrush · 04/12/2012 14:46

DS (7) is getting quite good at birds... trees are easier as they don't move as much Grin. I do think that its much easier birdwatching when you can recognise what you should be looking out for by the sound its making - that's what we normally notice first with kingfishers - and bullfinches.

GrimmaTheNome · 04/12/2012 14:48

are gamekeepers allowed to shoot birds of prey
I don't think so - nor poison them. But some do it. Sad

Is this the December Top Trumps thread in winter camoflage? Grin

AWimbaWayInaManger · 04/12/2012 14:51

We get them circling over our house, sometimes a few at a time eyeing up the children, they have a breeding programme at Harewood near to where we live which has been very successful.

AWimbaWayInaManger · 04/12/2012 14:53

"Is this the December Top Trumps thread in winter camoflage?"

I'll change that to sometimes 10-20 at a time. Grin

ArielThePiraticalMermaid · 04/12/2012 14:53

No they're not allowed to. Nor are they allowed to take their eggs or lay poisoned bait. Yet they still do it. Golden eagles should be flourishing in the Southern Uplands now, but they're not.

I'm trying to think of something good I have seen lately. I don't think there's anything :(. A few lapwings in a field off the M5, that's all.

Original poster
OwlLady · 04/12/2012 14:58

oh that's sad :(

Grimma, i am impressed with the fact this thread went into most active and I thought no-one would respond:o i talk about this stuff in real life and it's usually met with silence or that's nice dear

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