Nearly all of my blogs relate to my time spent in and around Stocker's Lake in the Colne Valley but I do go elsewhere sometimes.
A present from a friend, Brian Cooper, led to this little adventure. He kindly gave me a gift voucher for my 'big' birthday, a photographic course with 'going digital' (https://www.goingdigital.co.uk/ ) and after Covid and one false start, yesterday I went to The Cat Survival Trust at Welwyn ( http://www.catsurvivaltrust.org/ ) for day learning how to snap Leopard, Lynx, Puma, Caraval and many more. (If you would rather see pictures of them look me up on Facebook)
So why is the blog all about Red Kites?
Well it turns out that the centre feed the Red Kites every day and so attract the birds in large number. This was of course too good an opportunity for me to miss.
I admit to be being delighted with some of the shots, but with a lovely bright sunny day, 40-50 kites around and them swooping down to pick up their food I would have been disappointed not to get one or two good pictures.
Red Kites are one of my favourite birds and it is strange to think that not that long ago I would have been lucky to see even one. Let alone 40 in one place! That's because the Red Kite was once one of Britain's rarest birds, It was for a long time, a target for taxidermists and egg collectors. It became extinct in England in 1871 and in Scotland in 1879.
By 1903 when protection efforts started, only a handful of pairs were left in remote parts of central Wales. In fact the population did not exceed 20 pairs until the 1960’s, when it started slowly to increase. Protection measures were increased in the 1950s but with a re-introduction programme run by RSPB, Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage, which started in 1989, the Red Kite is now established in several areas of England and Scotland, and numbers are growing.
Given this story, it's not too surprising to hear that for some people, particularly those in Wales, the Red Kite symbolises 'survival' and specifically 'the survival of a national identity'. (In 2007 a poll chose the Red Kite as the national bird of Wales)
For others it symbolises change and prophecy with a call to make sure you see the big picture.
Thanks to Peter, https://www.petersmartwildlife.co.uk/ for leading the course and passing on numerous tips which is possibly another reason some of the pictures aren't too bad.
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