Most of them are red kites, there are some buzzards in with them and crows on the ground. I went to mid wales in the 80,s and saw 15 red kites then that totalled a tenth of the uk population and look how many there are now.
I often think that give or take a few White-tailed Eagles, and maybe the howling of a few distant Wolves, Gigrin Farm at feeding time must encapsulate the aftermath of a Dark Ages battlefield rather well!
I went there in the 1960's searching for them, a time when 15 probably made up 50 or even 100% of the population! I think we were lucky to see one. I've been since and nowadays they are all over the place. I'm wondering if this original Welsh population and the introduced one from the Chilterns are now merged as one?
The forthcoming new Bird Atlas might give some ideas. But it can only be a matter of time. Red Kites are in Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire from introductions, and in Herefordshire and Shropshire from the Welsh population; surely young birds are going to meet up in the Forest of Dean, Cannock Chase or the Malverns?
But it can only be a matter of time. Red Kites are in Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire from introductions, and in Herefordshire and Shropshire from the Welsh population; surely young birds are going to meet up in the Forest of Dean, Cannock Chase or the Malverns?
The recovery of the red kite even since the early 90's is fantastic - they, along with buzzards (another species to have enjoyed a massive resurgence since my childhood) are a regular sight up in Northumberland when I visit Hel.
