Red Kite

Rainbowsend

A fairly local Red Kite, delighted to see it today.

MB Lacey

That's an amzing photo!
What lens/ camera have you got?

I've got quite a few photos I've taken of Red Kites around Yorkshire, they fly really close to you there, but in Ireland they don't fly half as close - so your photo is really great.

It wasn't me!

Was in Germany recently and took a train from Memmingen to Friedrichshafen and saw two kites along the way (along with foxes, roe deer and countless other animals) and then they hovered over the city while I was in Konstanz. Fantastic to see.

Rainbowsend

MB Lacey wrote: »

That's an amzing photo!
What lens/ camera have you got?

I've got quite a few photos I've taken of Red Kites around Yorkshire, they fly really close to you there, but in Ireland they don't fly half as close - so your photo is really great.

Thankyou very much! I use a Sony a700 with a Sigma 50-500 that was at full stretch and cropped slightly. I was delighted to see it, I knew they were in the area but have not been lucky enough to see any untill today.

Feargal as Luimneach

Class photo!

Roen

Well played! Hard to catch them at all

LostCovey

Rainbowsend wrote: »

A fairly local Red Kite, delighted to see it today.

A lovely photo, thanks for sharing it. I guess this is an adult, given the difference in shape between the inner secondaries (pointed) and outer secondaries (rounded), it seems to have moulted some of its flight feathers.

LostCovey

Valmont

I was in Yorkshire for the weekend and I saw two Red kites and a kestrel. That is more than I've seen the past year in Ireland!

MB Lacey

Rainbowsend wrote: »

I use a Sony a700 with a Sigma 50-500 that was at full stretch and cropped slightly.

Well the sharpness is great, I wonder if I can get a Sigma 50-500 to fit onto my nikon d40, I'll look into it.

Valmont, my parents live near Harewood House where one of the Red Kite re-introduction programmes took place, so whenever I go home I see several flying very low evey day.
Is that where you were? Leeds, Otley, Harrogate area?
Its quite cool aswell that Emmerdale Farm is filmed in the grounds of Harewood House, so they often have Red Kites flying over their set!

If you want to see more photos of RedKites I write a blog and have some Yorkshire Red Kite photos posted here.

E39MSport

Rainbowsend wrote: »

Thankyou very much! I use a Sony a700 with a Sigma 50-500 that was at full stretch and cropped slightly. I was delighted to see it, I knew they were in the area but have not been lucky enough to see any untill today.

I have the same lens on my Cannon. Love it. Hefty beast though.
Nice shot.

ThunderCat

Great photo. Lovely animal. Easily my favourite bird of prey, such a beautiful flyer.

Rainbowsend

@ MBLacey..........I am sure Sigma do a Nikon fit in that lens, I know they do in the 150-500 which is not quite so heavy but still a good lens. That shot was handheld, I didnt have time to get the tripod out, I dont usually get good shots handheld, so I was really lucky

MB Lacey

Rainbowsend wrote: »

@ MBLacey..........I am sure Sigma do a Nikon fit in that lens, I know they do in the 150-500 which is not quite so heavy but still a good lens. That shot was handheld, I didnt have time to get the tripod out, I dont usually get good shots handheld, so I was really lucky

I looked at the price of that lens - €1600!!
I'll have to stick to my cheaper lens and blurrier bird photos for a while I think!

bogtreader

Brilliant picture Rainbowsend looks like a "young un" it seems to have a tag still on.As far i know the tag only stay one for a year when they moult if falls off.Thanks for sharing:):)

wildlifeman

2 red kites n the river road along the tolka in D15 for the past two weeks.

Harry Hussey

Hi there,
The initial Red Kite image is amazing, one of the best that I have seen taken in Ireland. As a result, the finer details of moult and wear are readily visible, enabling accurate ageing, though, as my own experience with ageing of Red Kite is limited, I concede that some of this may be incorrect.
So, to start, this bird is in obvious primary moult, and this means that it can't be one of this year's juveniles: the very pale iris, mainly yellowish bill and streaked underparts are also all features of older (adult-type) birds anyway. We are thus dealing with a bird in its second calendar year (i.e. born in 2009) or older. Now, I can't help but notice that the outer four (dark-tipped) primaries are retained older feathers, with a gap where the fifth primary should be. That said, it really interests me that the outermost primary is a lot more faded than the next three feathers: in Common Buzzard, during the first complete moult in a bird's second calendar year, the moult is very often incomplete, with a variable number of juvenile primaries not being replaced at all, and not moulted until the next complete moult, in the bird's third calendar year. If Red Kite has a similar moult strategy, and I don't see why it may not have, this would make this bird a 3rd calendar year, with three primaries remaining that it moulted in last year, and the outermost a juvenile feather that is almost two years old and will be replaced before too long.
Now I just need to study my copy of Forsman and see if my logical reasoning is flawed or not...
Regards,
Harry

Rainbowsend

Thanks Harry, so this could have been one of the original Kites that were
introduced here. The tags are still in place would these stay put throughout the moult?

Harry Hussey

Rainbowsend wrote: »

Thanks Harry, so this could have been one of the original Kites that were
introduced here. The tags are still in place would these stay put throughout the moult?

The original batch of releases was in 2007, as far as I recall, so this bird, if my reasoning is correct, would have been from the second batch of releases, in 2008.
Tags, and this is not as barbaric as it may sound, are actually stitched through an area of skin membrane on the wing, and, while some wear away a little and fall off, they are designed to stay on a bird. This does not cause pain, it's probably no different to human beings wearing earrings or something.
Of course, reading the tags, were that possible, would allow 100% accurate ageing...
Regards,
Harry

cuddlycavies

Anyone wanting to view these magnificent birds will be rewarded by a trip to Avoca. A half mile from the town on the Arklow road is a ruined church on the right. Immediately opposite is a panoramic view of the wooded river valley. Up to seven kites can be seen daily riding the wind thermals above.

cuddlycavies

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sables2

Hi Rainbowsend,
What a stunning picture you caught there! The rapture is SO graceful in flight. I'd LOVE to see one. Tried Broadlough Co. Wicklow. No sign. I'v been told they're pretty common around Rathdrum??
Why don't you post a 'find' to: www.irishbirding.com Your BOUND to get a name for yourself there - especially if you get a picture of birds who are uncommon and rare.

Rainbowsend

Thank you very much for the compliment sables2, this was taken in Rathdrum, I had been there for the day and had just about given up when I was returning down the hill into the village he flew right in front of me! A great sight for sure, you can sometimes get them over the Nll just around the Arklow bypass too.

cuddlycavies

Saw one soaring at Roundwood this morning. But Avoca is a dead cert if you want to see them.

coolhandspan

those kites still around guy????????

sables2

Ok Rainbowsend. Thanks for advice. Can't wait to see if i can spot one. "Patients is a virtue, have it if can - seldome in in a women, but never in a man"

Feargal as Luimneach

http://www.birdwatch.co.uk/channel/newsitem.asp?c=11&cate=__9764
From the link above: "This year (2010) they have managed to breed – the first breeding of Red Kites in Ireland for more than 200 years. Twelve chicks were raised from seven nests in Co Wicklow and five chicks by four pairs in Co Down".
So that's a total of 16 chicks raised North and South this year:D

Rainbowsend

that is a wonderful achievement Feargal lets hope they all survive!

jkforde

Damian's Clarke's email here, reckon we should bombard him with congratulatory emails! Fantastic news on a day when the news is otherwise plain depressing.

sables2

Yes, it is Rainbowsend - great news about the red kites.
prosperous thread by Feargal. It's AMAZING news! God, i do hope the chicks thrive and live long enough to breed themselves when the time comes.Tonight i saw the RTE programme: 'The Eagles Return'. It was TOTALLY depressing to see SO many raptors poisoned. Will farmers...(who else??) ever learn. The Norwegians have us under scrutiny, and rightly so. If it continues..the illicit negligence of our farmers, we'll have little or NO birds of prey left. They..(the Norwegian farmers) don't use poisonous bait, simply put - they'd be imprisoned i believe. These precious and beautiful birds are in our hands..literally.

MB Lacey

Just a reminder that any sightings should be reported to the Golden Eagle Trust, where, when etc

Here's the link http://www.goldeneagle.ie/portal.php?z=129

sables2

Hi MB Lacey,
Will do...if/when i see them: gosh, wouldn't it be sooo exciting!