Weardley Red Kites

Andrea drove through Weardley earlier today and watched a Red Kite for a few minutes as it threw some shapes together. The Yorkshire Red Kite website is a great source of information about these birds. In terms of local sightings we've seen one fly over our house in Kirkstall, had a couple of sightings over the allotment and regular weekend sightings in the Spen Lane/ring road area.

Bramhope and Weardley

On Sunday afternoon, on the way from Goldenacre Park out to Weardley we spotted 8 Red Kites in the skies above us, this one settled in the treetops, just long enough to grab a couple of pics. Nearby a female Kestrel surveyed the adjacent field and swooped down behind the hawthorn hedgerow into the field, presumably in pursuit of Sunday dinner.

A couple of miles away near Goldenacre Park we passed a field of Fieldfare, over 100 in number, with approximately 20 Starlings amongst the flock. We parked up to get a better view and count the numbers, here's approximately one fifth of the flock.

In the distance you can see Leeds Bradford Airport, the planes visible to the left of the picture.

Although last year's Fieldfare sightings in Park Square, Leeds City Centre gave us better views, I'd never seen quite as many in one flock. Seems like a good opportunity to dust off one of the Fieldfare pics that we took last year.

In fields nearby we noticed that Lapwing have returned in good numbers 2 x 50+ plus a big flock of Pink Footed Geese 80+.

I also noticed four bracket fungi growing on a deciduous trunk which I think is Daedaleopsis confragosa  (Blushing Bracket). A common fungi found all year round, with pores on the underside, Roger Phillips' Mushrooms describes its upper surface as "radially wrinkled and concentrically ridged" which sums it up nicely.  

As if Sunday's sightings weren't enough to keep me going through the week, on my way back into work at lunchtime, out of the corner of my eye I spotted a movement in the laurel hedgerow, expecting a Robin or a Dunnock I was surprised to see a Goldcrest, just the ticket to get me through a Monday afternoon.



Red Kites

Out to Weardley/Harewood on Monday to stretch our legs and enjoy yet another fine Red Kite display. Just what you need to blow the cobwebs away. At one point 10 Red Kites were in the air in front of us. You can read the latest on the Harewood Red Kite project in the Yorkshire Red Kite newsletter.

It wasn't until I downloaded these shots that I realised that this one is clearly tagged Yorkshire '17', which Ive reported.



You can just about make out six Red Kites in this shot.

Weardley Red Kites and Eccup

A short trip to Weardley saw the Red Kites in fine display. The afternoon light was murky and with the ISO cranked up our pics came out a little grainy but salvageable. Lovely to see the Red Kites energetically swooping and diving against the patchwork of fields, hedgerows and bare Oak trees. This field is a favourite with the Kites, full of sheep and mangelwurzel which presumably attracts plenty of small mammals too.

We watched a number of Kites engage in acrobatic aerial tussles where one or the other would roll upside down, drop and right itself with the greatest of ease time and time again.

The Red Kites regularly settled in a field occupied by sheep and a plentiful amount of mangelwurzel. Also present were a number of Pied Wagtail, over 30 in this field, busily bobbing around and unlike the Kites attracting the occasional interest of the resident sheep. We also spotted a couple of Twite in the field but too far away for a pic.

A little further up the road towards Eccup a fallow field held Lapwing 15, Curlew 5, Starling 40, Wood Pigeon 25, and three hares. Here's a pair of hares spotted at a distance. The Lapwing were keen to see off any crows that flew over the area so maybe they're marking this as potential breeding ground, it'll be interesting to keep an eye on it.

Red Kites at Weardley

The Red Kites were out in force yesterday afternoon in the skies around Weardley on the Harewood Estate, the site of the 1999 re-introduction project. To my mind you can never tire of watching these magnificent birds. Read more about the Yorkshire Red Kite project on Nigel Puckrin's website.

Weardley New Year's Day sightings

On New Year's Day, mid afternoon we drove out to Weardley, near Harewood. With the temperature a chilly 2 degrees & getting colder, the pathways were still icy & as a result we didn't wander far but still managed a few good sightings.

The Red Kites we're around in decent numbers & today we counted ten just in this area. This Red Kite was perched on a treetop surveying the area. Its tagged bird, the tag looks orange which I think means the bird was released in 2005.

In the nearby field a flock of sheep were getting stuck into mini-mountains of mangelwurzel & the field attracted a number of birds. Lapwing, Fieldfare, Jackdaws, Wood Pigeon, Blackbird, Great Tit and Robin hopped through the hedgerow. We noticed a flock of about 10 smaller birds feeding on the ground, I'm struggling to identify them so any suggestions would be appreciated.

Ive included this pic to give an idea of scale, two birds are just about visible to the left of the rear leg of the sheep.

A female Kestrel settled on a nearby telegraph pole.

On joining the Ebor Way footpath we realised that what we'd initially assumed to be one of the many Red Kites lacked the forked tail & had a far heavier appearance & it turned out to be a Buzzard, I didn't manage a pic but it was a good reminder to pay attention.

Adel Dam Nature Reserve

We visited Adel Dam for the first time on Saturday, what a lovely woodland reserve & surprisingly peaceful on a busy sunny day when neighbouring Goldenacre Park was full of visitors. You can find a handy map at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust .

Marsh Hide Feeding Station overlooks a small pond brimming with lush vegetation & surrounded by a variety of mature mixed woodland. The close proximity to the pond provides a fine view of the inhabitants. The plentiful feeders attracted a steady procession of small woodland birds Coal Tit, Great Tit, Marsh Tit, Robin and a Nuthatch appeared intermittently. A couple of Magpies arrived prompting expectation that they'd hog the feeder but didn't stay long presumably full from an earlier feed.

A Grey Heron appeared & settled imposingly on the diminutive pond. It skulked round the margins of the pool successfully hunting small fish. We watched as a dragonfly darted foolishly over the Heron. It coolly kept its beady eyes on the insect, suddenly extending its long neck & darting its beak skywards to pluck the dragonfly out of the air & with a crunch made a tidy snack of it.

Gotcha...

A Treecreeper spiralled up a Willow trunk probing for insects.

The Nuthatch didn't stay for long before it was off again, this was the best I could manage.

The second hide overlooks Adel Dam, a much larger body of water. The water level is low at the moment & the birds were scarce, mainly Coots, Mallards, Moorhen. Here's the view.

A Red Kite soared overhead.

At the water's edge a fox crept through the thicket contemplating duck for tea no doubt. It mooched around for a minute dissappearing into the trees.

Ten minutes later we spotted a flash of colour to our right & a fox darted out of the undergrowth & trotted away from us through the waterside vegetation.

It appeared a few minutes later at the opposite bank quickly slipping out of view into the trees. Then we became aware of its reflection in the water as it settled near a flock of waterside birds waiting unnoticed for an unsuspecting bird to stray nearby.

What Kitey Did Next

Took a trip to Harewood to observe the Red Kites. They're huge birds, with a wingspan of 1.5m, a distinctive deeply forked tail, and are fascinating to watch. The Yorkshire Red Kite Project started at the Harewood Estate, 1999 - 2003, over which time 68 birds were released resulting in a total of over 400 young raised in Yorkshire.

More info about the Yorkshire Red Kites:

• Yorkshire Red Kites
• Red Kites in Yorkshire
• RSPB - Red Kite
• Eccup Reservoir Map -Yorkshire Water

Between us we managed to get a few good pics, here you go.

Ive included the following 3 blurred pics because they tag is visible on the left wing (it looks reddish to me). Ive seen a list of tag colours somewhere that indicate when & where a bird was released so I'll check & get back with more info.

And just to show that its not all about the big birds, a Treecreeper on a conifer.

I'm especially interested in the Red Kites because a similar programme in the North East has led to everyday sightings around Rowlands Gill, where I grew up. My Auntie Ann & Uncle Lon regularly watch the Red Kites from their front room. And to top that, the local bus is now emblazoned with the Red Kite.