Red Kite

OpenYourEyes

Bsal wrote: »

I would say best times to see birds of prey is early morning and mid afternoon.

Agreed. Even late afternoon to early evening isnt bad, although the lighting mightnt be great for taking pics!

Around midday is generally a bad time for it anyway!

Rainbowsend

Depends on weather too, on a warm calm day you could get
them early morning till late afternoon, riding the thermals.

dodderangler

michaelmouse wrote: »

Sorry for invading air space but was just wondering what the best times are to view birds of prey in general.... have some amazing creatures on my doorstep that I want to identify with a camera I bought to impress everyone on here! Absolute novice and new to bird stalking but I am fascinated.

When the sun is proper beaming out you will find them out pretty much everywhere
Buzzards are everywhere now and kites are now growing in numbers
But when the sun isn't out you will find them out early mornings and late evenin so
Etimes mid day

michaelmouse

Thanks for everyones help..

cameramonkey

Does anyone know the numbering system that is used on the tags on the Irish Kites so that if I see one I could know where the bird originated and its age.

dodderangler

cameramonkey wrote: »

Does anyone know the numbering system that is used on the tags on the Irish Kites so that if I see one I could know where the bird originated and its age.

'if you see one you could know its age and where the bird came from'?
What type of binoculars have you got lol
Hope your not planning on catching one?

cameramonkey

dodderangler wrote: »

'if you see one you could know its age and where the bird came from'?
What type of binoculars have you got lol
Hope your not planning on catching one?

i have access to numerous long broadcast and dslr lenses that would pick up a tag easily. I have seen kites so close in the UK that you could read a tag with 8 x 30 binos or even maybe with your naked eyes(if they had tags).

No I dont want to catch one. I was looking at the kitecam and wondering why they were tagged in the mid 30s, (35 and 37, I think).Are they the 35th and 37th kites born in Ireland? That is my interest.

OpenYourEyes

cameramonkey wrote: »

i have access to numerous long broadcast and dslr lenses that would pick up a tag easily. I have seen kites so close in the UK that you could read a tag with 8 x 30 binos or even maybe with your naked eyes(if they had tags).

No I dont want to catch one. I was looking at the kitecam and wondering why they were tagged in the mid 30s, (35 and 37, I think).Are they the 35th and 37th kites born in Ireland? That is my interest.

I'm sure if you email Marc Ruddock (email address should be on goldeneagle.ie somewhere) he'd let you know the system and what birds you're likely to have seen!

cameramonkey

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

I'm sure if you email Marc Ruddock (email address should be on goldeneagle.ie somewhere) he'd let you know the system and what birds you're likely to have seen!

I'm sure Marc Ruddock dosnt want to be bothered by the likes of me. I have never seen a red kite in Ireland. If you re read my post my main interest is in why the birds on the kitecam are numbered as they are.

My explanation of equipment was to show that if I did happen to see one then in the right circumstances it would not be impossible to read the tags.

GFish

Great Photo.
Is that a tag I can see on the wing?

Rainbowsend

Thought it had been a while since any photos were posted, so here is
one to keep the enthusiasm going



Taken in Avoca a couple of weeks ago.

OpenYourEyes

Rainbowsend wrote: »

Thought it had been a while since any photos were posted, so here is
one to keep the enthusiasm going



Taken in Avoca a couple of weeks ago.

Great pic! Can I ask what lens you used?

Rainbowsend

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

Great pic! Can I ask what lens you used?

Thanks, I use a Nikon D700 with a Sigma 300mm 2.8 lens, it is a lovely
lens to use though I do find it heavy.......getting muscles like Popeye I am

WildIreland

Yet to see one in Ireland, but with the reintroduction project gaining momentum hopefully it won't be too long. Traveled from Birmingham to London earlier this year and counted 36 kites patrolling the M40 corridor. Amazing birds!

WildIreland

GFish wrote: »

Great Photo.
Is that a tag I can see on the wing?

It would be, yes GFish -- all of the Irish kites are tagged -- or at least all of the reintroduced birds are tagged, and the young from nests that the reintroduction project know about -- although it is possible they may have missed a few nests.

Untagged kites in Ireland are almost certainly "blow ins" from across the water.

WildIreland

dodderangler wrote: »

Buzzards are everywhere now

Buzzards are still scarce enough down here in West Cork @dodderangler. You get the occasional one passing, but they're certainly not a common site. Still waiting for them to make their way down.

dodderangler

Well I'm up in Dublin and anywhere there is open fields and bit of wooded area your guaranteed to see at least a breeding pair
There is two breeding pairs across road from my house
Was out hunting with the female Harris hawk one day and she landed in a tree and the two buzzards basically tag teamed and attacked her then I spotted the nest in the tree so it was a territory thing other than that they wouldn't of came near her as she's a lot bigger than the buzzards And she'd go for one if it was on the ground

WildIreland

Yes, they're pretty well established up that way, and are spreading south at a rate of knots... there are several breeding pairs around Cork, and some potentially great buzzard habitat locally, so only a matter of time I reckon.

cameramonkey

is the kite camera working for anyone? for the last week i haven't been able to watch it.

dodderangler

WildIreland wrote: »

Yes, they're pretty well established up that way, and are spreading south at a rate of knots... there are several breeding pairs around Cork, and some potentially great buzzard habitat locally, so only a matter of time I reckon.

Your right it's like the buzzards it was only a matter of time until they flourished all over Leinster which is great news for them I could go hunting in 3 places in a day and maybe count about 15 or 16 of them
Seen 5 circling above my head last week while I was ferretin they seem to know when I'm around as when I get a rabbit I gut them there and then and the buzzards come down for the left overs
But when I'm with my own hawk they make sure they are up way to high for my own bird to grab them
But in Wicklow the red kites do come down well before the buzzards do for the guts and the buzzards won't come down when the kites are around
Similar size but was told kites are that bit more aggressive and more territorial than the buzzards

snowstreams

cameramonkey wrote: »

is the kite camera working for anyone? for the last week i haven't been able to watch it.

I cant get it working either. I wonder did the chicks fledge and theyve taken the camera down?
Either that or the camera broke after being out in the elements!

WildIreland

snowstreams wrote: »

I cant get it working either. I wonder did the chicks fledge and theyve taken the camera down?
Either that or the camera broke after being out in the elements!

Could well be exactly that -- although in either scenario you'd think they'd post a message on the page saying something to that effect.

cameramonkey

http://www.irishbirding.com/birds/web/Display/sighting/46615/Red_Kite.html

looks like some good news from down.At least 14 kites fledged this year. I wonder what the numbers are from the south?

dodderangler

cameramonkey wrote: »

http://www.irishbirding.com/birds/web/Display/sighting/46615/Red_Kite.html

looks like some good news from down.At least 14 kites fledged this year. I wonder what the numbers are from the south?

Pretty high I'd say as over space of a week I've seen 9 kites and two of them were this years birds

whyulittle

Good breeding season for the red kites of Northern Ireland

August 2012. Stormy weather during this year's breeding season failed to blow Northern Ireland's red kite population off course.

New figures, released by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Northern Ireland, reveal that in 2012 there were twelve known breeding pairs in Northern Ireland, a rise of three on the previous year. However, strong winds and prolonged spells of heavy rain throughout the season did take their toll on some pairs, with one nest being blown from the tree and another which held a single chick also failing as a direct result of the weather.

Full story at wildlifeextra.com

whyulittle

WICKLOW RED KITE PROJECT IRISH BRED KITE NESTS IN WICKLOW

An Irish Red Kite, hatched and fledged from a nest in Wicklow, has for the first time nested, bred and reared its own young near Redcross. As part of the national bird of prey reintroduction programmes in Ireland, Red Kites, Golden Eagles and White-tailed Eagles have all bred in Ireland in recent years.

But all these breeding adults have hatched in their respective donor stock countries (Wales, Scotland and Norway) and were subsequently collected and reared in Ireland.

This summer the breakthrough came when an Irish bred Red Kite, hatched and fledged from a nest in Wicklow in 2010, has bred itself and reared its own young. This is a major milestone in the gradual restoration of kites and eagles to their traditional haunts in Ireland.

Full story at Golden Eagle Trust.

whyulittle

Dublin Red Kites Project Update and Rodenticide Awareness

The successful Dublin red kite project launched in 2011, with support from National Parks & Wildlife Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, The Welsh Kite Trust, Fingal LEADER Partnership, Fingal County Council and a suite of volunteers; the Golden Eagle Trust reports that there were three pairs of young kites established in the summer of 2012 in North County Dublin. However, none of these kites successfully nested.

The kites are still too young to breed, but showed signs of pairing up this year and hopefully 2013 will see successful breeding in Dublin. The Golden Eagle Trust would like to express their considerable thanks to all the landowners and the public for the phenomenal support shown for the re-introduction project in Fingal and is asking for everybody to mindful of wildlife when using rodenticides at this time of year.

Read more at goldeneagle.ie.

whyulittle

Red kite "Damian" released back to the wild in Wicklow

The Wicklow red kite project was boosted today after a two year old injured red kite "Blue Blue =" was nursed back to health by Gillian Hicks and the team at Cloverhill Veterinary Clinic, Glenealy, Co. Wicklow.

The bird was found last week by a member of the public, Robert McCoy who brought the bird to the vets for care and then the project team kept the bird for a few days in the aviaries, gave it plenty of food and released in back to the wild. Robert informed the project team "he just loved seeing the kites in the area and was glad the bird was back in the wild".

Full story at a new snazzy looking goldeneagle.ie.

whyulittle

Some chick/nest photos from the summer.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.447673298623922.111155.144404808950774&type=1

Monkaa

hi guys, my other half and I are heading down to Avoca this weekend, and we were wondering can anyone give us any information on spotting the red kites this time of year? I hear they gather to roost in the evening..anyone have any idea where abouts and what time of the day is best to see these birds. Thanks